Philippine security adviser quits

Philippine security adviser quits

PHILIPPINES: President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has lost another member of her cabinet to the campaign for May's election in the Philippines after Roilo Golez, her national security adviser, quit to run for Congress.

Golez, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a three-term congressman before he joined Arroyo's team in 2001, oversaw policies on antiterror efforts against homegrown and regional militants but had no direct control over security forces.

His widely expected departure will bring a fifth new face into Arroyo's inner circle with just over four months until national elections on May 10.

An exhausted Jose Camacho quit as finance secretary in November, Foreign Secretary Blas Ople died last month and Manuel Roxas and Simeon Datumanong, the trade and justice secretaries, left recently to prepare their congressional campaigns.

"All systems go," Golez told Reuters on Thursday, adding he had received Arroyo's "full blessings and understanding" during a private breakfast with the president on Wednesday. -- Reuters