Tito quits Lakas over slow reforms

Vice President Teofisto Guingona resigned yesterday from the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) and accused President Arroyo of failing to effect badly needed reforms.

Despite his resignation from Lakas, where he served as president, the maverick Guingona remains Vice President of the republic, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

His resignation was the second high-profile defection suffered by the ruling party in as many days. Sen. Loren Legarda, believed to be planning to run for president or vice president next year, resigned from Lakas-CMD Thursday.

Guingona’s resignation letter addressed to the President was sent to Malacañang yesterday.

Palace officials said Guingona will still be invited to the Oct. 18 state visit of United States President George W. Bush, despite the fact that the Vice President and Mrs. Arroyo disagree on many issues, including Philippine-US relations.

"If the Vice President has indeed resigned from the party, it is a decision that he alone is responsible for and we respect his decision," Bunye said.

Guingona announced his decision at a news conference, amid speculations that the President would launch her presidential campaign over the weekend.

Mrs. Arroyo, 56, was elected vice president in the 1998 polls and came into power after a military-backed popular revolt in January 2001 ousted the elected leader, Joseph Estrada, who is now detained and standing trial for the capital offense of plunder.

The President plucked Guingona from the Senate to serve as vice president. In July 2002, Guingona quit his concurrent post as foreign affairs secretary after publicly disagreeing with the President over the deployment of US anti-terror troops in Mindanao.

Presidential political liaison officer and Lakas-CMD executive director Jose Rufino said that Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte, Lakas executive vice president, will now be party president.

Bunye said that following Guingona’s resignation, there has been no word from the President on whether Guingona will again be designated caretaker for government when Mrs. Arroyo leaves Manila to attend the Informal Leaders’ Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Bali, Indonesia on Oct.7-8.

He also said "the relationship between the President and the Vice President has been very professional, so we don’t see anything that will mar that existing relationship."

Veep’s Beefs

Reading his resignation letter before reporters, Guingona referred to the President’s Dec. 30, 2002 announcement "that you would not run in the 2004 elections because you would focus on reforms badly needed by the nation."

"Unfortunately, those reforms have not materialized," he added. "The people are bedeviled by corruption worse compounded, which vitally erodes our economy, deepening the poverties of our people."

Guingona cited the government’s refusal to grant greater autonomy to local government units (LGUs) and its failure to resolve the three-decade-old Mindanao conflict as two of his reasons for quitting Lakas.

"I do not blame anyone for this and take my humble share of shortcomings for the sad state of affairs we face," Guingona said in his letter. "It pains me to write this letter, but the moment of truth demands that I tender my resignation from the Lakas-CMD party."

The ruling party’s current position on national issues, he said, was "especially agonizing" to those who helped Mrs. Arroyo assume the presidency in 2001. "Even in our party, there exist personalities accused of graft who continue to hold power, adding to the despair of our people, who perceive that our party is not serious about bringing about needed reforms."

Sources said Guingona may be referring to former justice secretary Hernando Perez, who continues to sign party letters as Lakas-CMD secretary general even as he faces graft charges.

Guingona also cited his difference of opinion with the party on the issue of Charter change. Guingona is known for his nationalist stance and vocal opposition to proposed Charter amendments on the constitutional provisions preventing foreign ownership of national patrimony.

Speaker Jose de Venecia, who co-chairs Lakas with Mrs. Arroyo, is pushing for amendments to the 1987 Constitution, including opening up real estate property and businesses to foreign ownership.

De Venecia downplayed speculations of a party breakup, saying the President has the full support of the party and its members.

Guingona, a native of Misamis Oriental, said, "ours is a Christian-Muslim party, but the Muslims seem neglected." Besides Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong, he said, no other Filipino Muslims have been appointed to a top government post.

"The perception in Mindanao is that if there is a Muslim problem, the military solution is the appropriate remedy, not economic or social (approaches)," he said. "The Muslim areas are some of the richest in the land, yet, it is ironic that the populace (in those places) seem to continue (to live) in abject poverty."

"In saying farewell, I bear no personal animosity to any member of the party," he said. "I part with the hope that, despite the temporary setback in our nation, the future will bring us and our children a better tomorrow."

While saying he was saddened by the resignations of Guingona and Legarda, Rufino said it is now time to test the loyalty of Lakas’ members.

"I’d rather have 10 loyal people than 10,000 that are not sure," Rufino said. "The timing (of these resignations) is very odd. These things are always happening even before (the President) is supposed to make an announcement."

He also said it is a common occurence for politicians to test other options when the election season nears.

Of Guingona’s resignation, Rufino said, "he is a loss. We respect him, but sometimes some of his pronouncements go against the grain of the President and the party chairman. If you don’t like the clothes you’re wearing, maybe its better to change clothes."

Support In Defection

As Guingona had supported her defection from the ruling party, Legarda expressed support for the Vice President. "I laud and strongly support (Guingona’s) resignation as president of Lakas-CMD. His resignation as head of the administration party undoubtedly serves as a manifestation of his moral integrity and strength of character."

Legarda said Guingona’s decision to resign from Lakas shows that "he has placed a premium on being able to serve the public better without the burden of partisan politics mounted heavily on his shoulders."

With Guingona’s resignation as party president, Legarda said, "Lakas-CMD has lost a pillar."

Meanwhile, former education secretary and presidential aspirant Raul Roco said his Aksyon Demokratiko party is willing to take in both Guingona and Legarda.

In an earlier interview, Roco said Legarda was on his shortlist of prospective running mates for his second attempt at the presidency next year, along with

Senate President Franklin Drilon and Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., both Lakas stalwarts, and former Cebu governor Lito Osmeña of the Promdi political party and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.

While some members of the opposition interpret the resignations of Guingona and Legarda as signs that Lakas-CMD is weakening, political figures from the administration party see this as a culling that will leave Lakas-CMD "healthier and stronger than ever."

Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla (LDP) said the defections of Guingona and Legarda are "an indication that the boat is sinking and that everyone is expected to jump ship."

However, Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric Singson (LP) belittled Legarda’s resignation as Lakas vice president for the Visayas, saying it would have only a minor effect on the ruling party. "The political season has just begun and we expect this to happen, but the People Power Coalition (PPC) will stay united."

The Senate majority leader’s bolting from Lakas, Singson said, could be likened to a "broken plate" that could easily be replaced. "We are waiting for the announcement of President Arroyo and the party will make its decision."

Padilla, for his part, said Legarda’s resignation signals the beginning of an exodus from Lakas-CMD, which, he predicted, will happen over the next few weeks. He said Lakas stands to lose 30 percent of its members.

Padilla said he is not sure where disgruntled Lakas members would go, since many of them can be seen in the company of presidential aspirants like Roco, businessman Eduardo Cojuangco and opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto Paras (Lakas-CMD) said the resignations wull trigger mass resignations from Lakas, possibly including the pro-Cojuangco bloc, which he leads.

"The exodus is beginning in Lakas," Paras said. "We should kick out this Rufino, because he is responsible for creating divisions and having wrecked the party."

"We are loyal members of Lakas because of its ideals and principles, but, if we will be forced to support a person against party rules, then we will have to think twice whether to stay or not."

Negros Rep. Apolinario Lozada (Lakas-CMD) admitted he was being wooed to join the ranks of the opposition. He warned that "unhappy Lakas members might join me" in leaving the ruling party because of "some arrogant and unelectable" party officials.

Political observers expect Legarda to join the Cojuangco camp should he decide to join the presidential derby, while other observers believe she may run for president as an independent candidate.

Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles described Guingona’s resignation as "a big chunk off our armor... a big loss to us."

Calling themselves the "young Turks" of the ruling party, Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, Marikina Rep. Del de Guzman, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri, Nueva Ecija Rep. Aurelio Umali, Bohol Rep. Edgar Chatto and Tagaytay City Mayor Francis Tolentino, in a joint statement, expressed regret over the resignations of Guingona and Legarda.

However, they also expressed confidence that the ruling party "will be stronger than ever with the influx of members of the young generation lured by President Arroyo’s good governance and leadership, as well as her expected candidacy next year."

Cayetano said more young people are joining Lakas-CMD because they believe the programs of the President will benefit their generation. "A closer look at the administration’s long-term programs will reveal these are actually the real solutions to our problems."

De Guzman said "many people, especially from the new generation, are gravitating towards Lakas because of belief in the President’s governance and leadership and her impending decision to run next year. Her programs are meant to take care of people up to the next generation."

Zubiri said he sees this influx of young new members into the ruling party "will further strengthen the party."

Zubiri also called on the party to stop what he has called its "ethnic cleansing and go on a charm offensive. Politics is addition, not subtraction"

Barbers said, "as it is now, more and more people are flocking to the party because of its pro-people, pro-country principles and commitments."

The resignations, he said, should be a wake-up call for the party in instituting stronger party discipline and loyalty.

Likening Lakas-CMD to a "phoenix" that will rise from the ashes of this latest shake-up, party stalwart and Iloilo Rep. Augusto Syjuco dismissed fears that Lakas will be torn apart. "The party is bigger than the individual and what makes the party strong is its grassroots, because we have the most number of elected officials." - With reports from Sheila Crisostomo Perseus Echeminada, Edith Regalado, Marichu Villanueva, Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero, Evelyn Macairan, AFP and AP