Saturday, July 09, 2005
Let Manila resign from RP: Cebu City mayor

CEBU CITY -- Seven local executives and lawmakers in Cebu decided to stand by President Arroyo Friday, even as calls for her resignation mounted in Manila.

"Let Manila resign from the Philippines. Manila can do whatever they want, but Manila is not the Philippines. It is not to our advantage if the President resigns...We made her the President and we'll make her stay as the President," said Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.


Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo



Osmeña and another Arroyo ally, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, were both on an official trip to the Netherlands when calls for President Arroyo's resignation were raised, one after the other, Friday.

Former president Corazon Aquino, 10 newly resigned members of the Cabinet, the Makati Business Club and the Liberal Party urged Arroyo to make the "supreme sacrifice" and resign, rather than waiting for impeachment or further destabilization.

Primetime newscasts from the capital reported that President Arroyo was on her way to Cebu last night, but Malacañang officials refused to confirm this as of 10:30 p.m.

By early evening, Sanlakas and the newly formed Gloria Step Down Movement staged separate rallies in Fuente Osmeña and the Capitol grounds to press for President Arroyo's resignation.

Home-bound

But most elected local officials said she deserved to stay.

"Every Cebuano knows that we chose President Arroyo and we urge this handful of unelected officials, including those who now are the noisy minority of unelectable former officials, that they respect this mandate," said Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

Capitol consultant Pablo John Garcia, her brother, said the governor will cut short her study tour sponsored by Water Remind, which was supposed to be until July 13, and will fly back to Cebu Saturday.

"She feels it is important that she is here to stand by the President in this time of crisis," Pablo John said.

Both Osmeña and Garcia said they will not recognize a new administration if the change of government is not in accordance with what the Constitution states.

Cebuanos should be steadfast in prayer and focus on local issues, instead of making statements that contribute to the country's difficulties, said Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama in a separate interview.

"Let's not add to the confusion. Whatever happens, her resignation should be voluntary because she doesn't deserve to have her term end in this manner," Rama told Sun.Star Cebu Friday afternoon.

'Correct'

Cebu's representatives to the Lower House are divided on the call for President Arroyo to resign.

Representatives Eduardo Gullas and Nerissa Soon-Ruiz are firm in urging Arroyo to stay put in Malacañang, but Representative Simeon Kintanar said "the situation has changed substantially... The President will have to consider the appeal to her."

Kintanar, however, did not elaborate, saying only that he thinks "the President will make the correct decision in due time."

Representative Clavel Martinez, meanwhile, merely "observed" that the pressure on the President is "getting stronger." When asked if she will join those who call for Arroyo's resignation, she replied, "I'll think about it."

Gullas pointed out that if an ordinary citizen is afforded due process, there is no reason to deny it "of the duly elected leader of the nation, mainly because of a doctored, spliced and adulterated wiretapped tape, illegally obtained, of a private conversation."

"While we respect the call of the Cabinet secretaries, the Liberal Party, the Makati Business Club and former president Corazon Aquino for PGMA to resign, we also have to respect the decision of the local government executives--governors, city and municipal mayors and the congressmen of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives- for the President to continue to govern," Gullas said in a written statement.

Impeachment

Added Soon-Ruiz: "It was not only Cory or the Makati Business Club or their groups who put Arroyo in position. The Philippines is not Manila or Makati. If opportunists who will create stories and fabricate lies can unseat any President, wa'y kaugmaun ang Pilipinas (the Philippines has no future)," said Soon-Ruiz.

In a separate interview, Cebu City Councilor Hilario Davide III also reiterated his support for President Arroyo, who he said may be cleared of the allegations against her if an impeachment process is started immediately.

"I would have wanted the impeachment to push through because it's the only way for her to defuse the tension that has gripped the country as a result of the Gloriagate tapes. That's her only way out," he said.

Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem, who counts President Arroyo among his wedding sponsors, said, "Illegally obtained materials do not warrant the President's resignation."

'Bad advice'

"I also believe a 'supreme sacrifice' would be for her to continue her presidency despite the calls for her resignation. There's no indication in the tapes that she cheated, and therefore, there is not enough cause for her to give up a duly constituted duty to serve the people in the best way she can till 2010," he said.

Councilor Edgardo Labella, chairman of the council committee on laws, ordinances, public accountability and good governance, said we should follow the constitutional process, which includes filing an impeachment case against the President.

Former governor Pablo Garcia, for his part, said President Arroyo's televised apology last June 27, for an "improper" conversation with an elections official, was the real lapse of judgment.

"She was getting the wrong advice from the people who want to control the President. She should serve out her full term because she has committed no impeachable offense," the former governor said. (JPM/MBG/LCR/GAC/RHM of Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)