Mounting resignations signal implosion of Estrada Cabinet<\/p>\n
By Amando Doronila<\/p>\n
MANILA: The resignation of Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas III
\nfrom the Cabinet is a crippling blow to the Estrada
\nadministration. It is expected to touch off a chain of
\nresignations, including the defection of the President's team of
\neconomic managers, signaling the implosion of the Cabinet.<\/p>\n
Roxas' resignation followed closely the resignation early this
\nweek of four pillars of the Philippine business community --
\nJaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Washington SyCip, former Prime
\nMinister Cesar Virata and former Sen. Vicente Paterno -- from
\nPresident Estrada's Council of Senior Economic Advisers.<\/p>\n
Roxas' resignation and those of the economic advisers are more
\ndevastating than the resignation from the Cabinet two weeks ago
\nof Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.<\/p>\n
The resignations highlighted the rapidly disintegrating
\nsupport for the President. The collective weight of these
\nresignations puts in serious doubt the survival of the Estrada
\nadministration which is facing a snowballing public demand for
\nthe President to step down to save the economy from collapse.<\/p>\n
These resignations are comparable in their impact as catalysts
\nin unraveling a government as the military mutiny of former
\nDefense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and Gen. Fidel Ramos against
\nPresident Marcos in February 1986.<\/p>\n
Although Roxas' resignation letter did not state clearly the
\nreason for his quitting the Cabinet, what matters in the balance
\nof forces as the President's support inside his administration
\ndwindles is that he quit. That fact alone had the impact of tons
\nof TNT.<\/p>\n
Estrada plucked out Roxas from the House (he was a majority
\nleader) in a Cabinet revamp last January to show that he was
\ndetermined to give the nation a \"new and honest government in the
\nnew millennium.\" Roxas quit in the midst of scandal of
\ncorruption, triggered by allegations by Gov. Luis \"Chavit\"
\nSingson that the President had received more than P400 million in
\njueteng kickbacks and P130 million in tobacco excise taxes.<\/p>\n
The resignations of the four leaders of the business community
\nare equally wounding. Together with Roxas and the new members of
\nthe Cabinet announced in January during his report to the nation,
\nthe business leaders were presented as a powerful dynamo that
\nwould spark a better economic performance than that of the
\nprevious year.<\/p>\n
The recruitment of the four was intended to introduce the
\nprivate business sector into the policymaking mechanisms of
\ngovernment. In political terms, the President coopted the private
\nbusiness sector to be represented in the Council of Senior
\nEconomic Advisers and a parallel organization, the Economic
\nCoordinating Council, to give legitimacy to his administration.<\/p>\n
At the time, the President was under fire for maintaining a
\n\"dual\" government -- the first, composed of his official Cabinet,
\nand the other the cabal of shadowy non-salaried advisers holding
\nsessions with him after midnight amid drinking sessions.<\/p>\n
In his Cabinet revamp last January, he dismissed these
\nadvisers but the Cabinet overhaul and the dismissal of the
\n\"midnight\" advisers did little to improve the performance of the
\ngovernment as an economic manager to drive economic recovery and
\nto give the country an \"honest\" administration.<\/p>\n
It has been reported that the senior economic advisers had
\ndecided to stop lending their names to \"legitimize the
\nadministration.\" Their resignation is thus another blow to the
\nlegitimacy of the Estrada administration.<\/p>\n
When the President announced his Cabinet revamp and his new
\nrecruits of senior economic advisers last January, he said he had
\nread the message of the people and the message was that they
\nwanted an honest and effective government. The President was
\nreferring to the fall of his job performance rating in public
\nopinion surveys.<\/p>\n
The resignation of the four representatives of the business
\ncommunity represents the formal withdrawal of their community's
\nsupport for and active participation in the government's economic
\neffort to lead the economy out of the devastation inflicted by
\nthe 1997 Asian financial meltdown.<\/p>\n
Their resignation followed the rapid polarization of the
\nbusiness community against the administration. During the past
\nweek, 12 business groups, including the Makati Business Club, the
\nManagement Association of the Philippines, and the Bishops-
\nBusinessmen's Conference -- have joined the swirling tide of
\ndemands for the President's resignation.<\/p>\n
The resignation of Roxas indicates that the President's line
\nof defense in the Cabinet is crumbling. Roxas, after Vice
\nPresident Macapagal, punched a big breach in the Cabinet's fagade
\nof solidarity.<\/p>\n
The rest of the economic managers -- including Agriculture
\nSecretary Edgardo Angara, Finance Secretary Jose Pardo, who is
\nthe brother-in-law of Vicente Paterno, Socioeconomic Planning
\nSecretary Felipe Medalla -- have less reason to stay in the
\nCabinet after Roxas' resignation signaled the message that he
\ncould not serve in an administration that has lost nearly
\nuniversal confidence from the citizens, the international
\nbusiness and media communities and from the business community
\nitself.<\/p>\n
These resignations could only put more pressure to weaken the
\nPresident's few remaining political control mechanisms --
\nCongress where he is facing impeachment charges. There have
\nalready been defections from the President's LAMP coalition whose
\nunity is fraying at the edges. After the resignations, defections
\ncan only turn into an avalanche.<\/p>\n
The main pressure that is pulling down the Estrada
\nadministration comes from a deteriorating economy. The unrest in
\nthe street, which is developing into another people power
\nmanifestation, contributes to the pressure on the President, on
\nCongress and the Cabinet.<\/p>\n
But the withdrawal of the business community's support for the
\nPresident is the strongest force acting on the Cabinet to abandon
\nthe President. At this point, all the President's conciliatory
\novertures to bring his opponents to help him overcome the crisis
\nhave become irrelevant.<\/p>\n
-- The Philippine Daily Inquirer \/ Asia News Network<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mounting-resignations-signal-implosion-of-estrada-cabinet-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }