Telltale Signs
by Rodel Rodis
It is a group outgoing Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) personally detests more than any other, a group she derisively refers to as the “Hayop 10” (the 10 beasts). This is none other than the famous or, if you love GMA, the infamous “Hyatt 10”- the term coined by the press after the hotel where the group publicly announced their mass resignations from GMA’s cabinet on July 8, 2005.
Members of the Hyatt 10 include Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, Education Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad, Budget Secretary Emilia Boncodin, Trade Secretary Juan Santos, Agrarian Reform Secretary Rene Villa, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles, National Anti-Poverty Commission Chair Imelda Nicolas, Internal Revenue Commissioner Guillermo Parayno and Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina.
It has been nearly 5 years since the day when these “hayops” willingly gave up all the political, social and financial perks and clout of a being a cabinet secretary or bureau chief to protest GMA’s cheating in the 2004 presidential elections and to publicly call on her to resign.
After they resigned, all of them actively involved themselves in opposing GMA’s Cha-Cha (Charter Change) and Con Ass (Constituent Assembly) initiatives that, they charged, were intended to extend GMA’s hold on to power beyond 2010.
All of them also actively supported the candidacy of Noynoy Aquino and played critical roles in his election campaign, notably Butch Abad who served as General Campaign Manager and Cesar Purisima who chaired the campaign’s fund-raising arm. Among her other activities, Imelda “Mely” Nicolas, sister of Filipino American community icon Loida Nicolas Lewis, coordinated the efforts of overseas Pinoys for Noynoy-Mar groups.
Because of their considerable experience in the bureaucracies they used to administer, and because of their personal sacrifices and their commitment to the anti-corruption program of government of Noynoy Aquino, their appointments to various cabinet posts would be only fitting and proper.
But not all agree. Sen. Chiz Escudero, a presidential hopeful in 2016 and the leading backer of “Noy-Bi”, the Noynoy-Binay cross-party presidential tandem, publicly called on Noynoy Aquino to reject any of the Hyatt 10 for consideration in his cabinet. Members of the Council for Philippine Affairs (COPA) led by Pastor “Boy’ Saycon, and closely identified with Noynoy’s uncle Peping Cojuangco, are also furiously lobbying Noynoy to deny a cabinet appointment to any of the Hyatt 10.
The statute of limitations for guilt by association with GMA must have already run for the Hyatt 10 by now after five years, especially since GMA could find nothing in their administrative records to smear them with even after exhaustively investigating all their official actions in her efforts to discredit them.
But there is one current member of GMA’s cabinet under consideration to retain his post in the Noynoy Aquino administration who has somehow smoothly managed to remain under the radar and avoid criticism from the fervent Hyatt 10 haters. This man is Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo who just this week heaped praise on GMA again for her “outstanding performance” as the country’s chief diplomat and for pushing a “people-centered foreign policy.”
Word that GMA-loyalist Romulo may be retained by Noynoy Aquino has dismayed his supporters and members of the Philippine diplomatic corps . According to Malaya columnist Ellen Tordesillas, “It’s bad enough that Romulo is incompetent. What is worse is that he has been the face of the Arroyo government to the world throughout these years of corruption and human rights violations. He defended Arroyo in international fora amidst accusations of cheating in the 2004 election, extra-judicial killings, and massive corruption.”
The candidate for the DFA post who is supported by Filipinos in the US and members of the Philippine Diplomatic Corps is former Philippine Ambassador to Washington Albert del Rosario. After serving five years in his post, he was “recalled” by GMA in 2006 after he opposed the hiring of the controversial Venable LLP firm as a lobbyist for the Philippine government. According to Business World columnist Greg Macabenta, GMA wanted Venable LLP hired to “secure grants and US congressional earmarks” for Arroyo’s initiative to reshape the form of government into a parliamentary federal system.”
Ambassador Del Rosario secured his reputation with Filipinos in America when he mobilized the community to convince the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the biggest public pension fund in the US, to retain its investments in the Philippines.
As Loida Nicolas-Lewis said: “We are particularly grateful for his leadership in opening up opportunities for us to give back especially to the land of our birth: he encouraged and assisted us in our initiative to lobby for the amendment to the money laundering laws in the Philippines, facilitating our remittances to help our loved ones back home; and making sure that investment returns meet the expectation of CalPERS.”
The last time Ambassador Del Rosario visited San Francisco was in 2008 when he came to promote PinoyMe, a pet project of former President Cory Aquino that would generate overseas support for the vital microfinance sector in the Philippines. As Greg Macabenta recounted in his column, private citizen Del Rosario “briefed us on the existence of about 450 microfinance institutions (MFI) operating throughout the country, serving about 3 million families with loans of as small as $100. According to him, that small amount could spell the difference between their having one meal or three meals a day.”
About 150 members of the US Pinoys for Noynoy-Mar are set to attend the inauguration of President-elect Noynoy Aquino on June 30. If we get a chance to speak to our president, we will ask him to appoint Ambassador Del Rosario as his Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
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