Former cabinet members write second demand letter to President Arroyo

They warn they will join calls for GMA’s resignation if she doesn’t heed their call for action

By Carmela Fonbuena


Former cabinet members, dating back to President Marcos’s administration, who earlier called on incumbent officials to resign, met on Saturday to draft another letter to demand from President Arroyo “very specific actions” in relation to the ongoing controversy on the botched broadband deal with Chinese company ZTE Corp.

Based on a draft copy obtained by Abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak, the group—also known as La Salle 60—has two priority demands.

First, they will echo calls by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for President Arroyo to withdraw Executive Order 464 to allow former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) secretary Romulo Neri to testify in the Senate.

Second, they will demand the release of NEDA documents on the broadband deal, including the minutes of meetings on the deal.

They will not call for the resignation of President Arroyo, but some of them warn that it will be the option left if she won’t heed their demands. It is the other government officials implicated in the controversy that they might ask to resign.

“If there will be no meaningful and satisfactory response from her… the call for resignation is most likely our next step,” said former education secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad, a member of the Hyatt 10, which bolted the Arroyo administration in 2005 at the height of the ‘Hello, Garci’ controversy. “Once there is a [united] call for resignation, things will move faster,” he said.

The group earned its name, La Salle 60, because of the original 60 signatories in the first demand letter calling on Cabinet officials to resign. It was announced in La Salle Greenhills in February, following a mass for Senate key witness Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada, who sought refuge in the school. The group has since grown to about 90.

Continuous pressure

This week, several activities have been lined up to continue the pressure on President Arroyo. Members of the Leftist group Gabriela will hold a protest rally in Ayala Avenue today to call for President Arroyo’s resignation and mark the International Women’s Month.

Another protest is scheduled on March 8.

La Salle 60’s press conference tomorrow (Tuesday) will coincide with the Office of the Ombudsman’s second public hearing on the botched broadband deal. The Senate will continue its investigation, too.

We learned that several businessmen will present a paper “questioning” Malacanang’s reporting on the economic growth. They will disprove the administration’s claim that all this political noise is going to slow down the economy.

A former Cabinet member who was briefed on the report shared to abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak findings by economic analysts that the economy will only get better “if we deal with the crisis soon.”

After Friday’s “Interfaith Rally”—the biggest showing the anti-GMA forces have mustered so far—the groups vow that they will intensify calls for truth on the broadband deal to come out. “It cannot be business as usual [for President Arroyo],” said former peace adviser Teresita “Ging” Deles. She said the political situation will only intensify.

No to martial law, charter change

Although the Cabinet members agree that it unlikely that President Arroyo will bow down to calls for her resignation, Deles said they have to continue with the protest actions.

“It’s not just that we’re angry with the[national broadband deal] We have to assert our power now. If we don’t’ do [these protests], she might not get out of there in 2010,’ Deles said.

Discussions in the meetings by the former cabinet officials have gone to the worst case scenarios. They have discussed the possibility of President Arroyo’s declaration of another State of Emergency or Martial Law, or the possibility of reviving Charter Change.

“We will not allow her,” Deles said. “The more we do things, something will happen. Something has got to give.”

Bishops, E.O. 464

Several bishops have declared similar warnings yesterday. Dagupan City Archbishop Oscar Cruz was quoted by abs-cbnNEWS.com as saying that “the CBCP’s position can be changed anytime especially if members see that nothing’s happening. Members are not naïve and they can call for another extraordinary meeting and make a stronger statement.”

(After a 10-hour emergency meeting last week, the CBCP fell short of calling for President Arroyo’s resignation. It disappointed several civil society groups.)

Malacanang deferred the decision on whether or not to scrap E.O. 464. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that they want to ensure certain “safeguards” for Cabinet officials who will attend the Senate hearing. The Palace legal team is expected to hold dialogues with the CBCP this week.