MANILA – One of the most outspoken and controversial members of the Arroyo Cabinet confirmed he would resign to run for mayor of his hometown in Iloilo province in the Visayas in the May 2010 elections.
Secretary Raul Gonzalez of the Department of Justice said he is definitely running for mayor of the province’s capital city of Iloilo and would leave his post before November this year, the deadline set by the Commission on Elections for the filing of certificates of candidacy for bets joining next year’s polls.
The post is to be vacated by Jerry Trinas, his close political ally, who is now on his third and final term as mayor of Iloilo City.
His son and namesake, Raul Gonzalez Jr., succeeded him as congressman of Iloilo when he accepted the offer of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to take over the justice department five years ago.
At age 77, Gonzalez is considered the oldest member of the Cabinet who became controversial for his outspoken and unflinching defense of President Arroyo in major issues like the impeachment cases filed against her as well as her alleged involvement in cheating and similar anomalies that attended the 2004 presidential polls.
But his impending resignation came amid speculations that Gonzalez is being eased out of his job because he had a “falling out” with influential members of the Arroyo administration regarding a recent celebrated case involving broadcaster Ted Failon, the news anchor of ABS-CBN, the country’s largest radio and television network.
A reliable source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, disclosed that Gonzalez got into trouble when he backed the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that Trina Etong, the wife of Failon, had committed suicide.
The source said some powerful individuals wanted Gonzalez and the NBI, which is under the justice department, to conclude that Failon had killed his wife.
Failon had been an arch critic of the President and members of her immediate family in a popular radio programme that he hosts every morning over the same network.
According to the source, Gonzalez would be replaced by lawyer Agnes Devanadera, the solicitor general.
Surprisingly, however, Gonzalez refused to comment on the speculations, saying that since he underwent a kidney transplant about two years ago, he could no longer keep pace with the hectic schedule of the President.
He pointed out that for the last three months, President Arroyo had been holding out-of-town Cabinet meetings, which meant traveling by air and land just so he could attend these meetings.
“Let us admit that we are not getting any younger,” Gonzalez told journalists in his visit to Iloilo City. “And I’m not sure of getting appointed to a Cabinet post by the next president. So, it’s better to be prepared for that.”
But more important, Gonzalez said he and his wife are preparing to bring their 38-old-son Jose Mari, to a pilgrimage to Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal to pray for his recovery from palsy, a condition characterized by uncontrolled movement and paralysis of parts of the body.
Besides, the justice secretary disclosed that like him, majority of the Cabinet members want to run for various positions in the coming May 2010 elections.
Gonzalez said they include Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro.
In particular, Teodoro announced his intention to run for president as the standard bearer of Lakas-Kampi, which arose from the recent merger of the country’s two biggest political parties – the Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats and the “Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino” (Kampi, or Partners of the Free Filipinos).
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[...] the same interview, Gonzalez reiterated his earlier announcement that he would resign from the Cabinet later this year to run for mayor of his hometown and political bailiwick of Iloilo City, the [...]