Palace: Arroyo not resigning, getting ready to campaign

02/26/2010 | 08:37 AM






Original Story: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/184821/palace-arroyo-not-resigning-getting-ready-to-campaign


A Palace official on Friday said that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not keen on resigning even if she is about to embark on the campaign trail for her congressional bid in Pampanga's second legislative district.

In a radio interview, deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said President Arroyo is not covered by a Supreme Court ruling deeming resigned at this time appointed officials running in the May polls.

"Hindi naman obligado na mag-resign ang elective official, kasama si pangulo riyan. She always made it clear kahit mangampanya na siya, pangunahing tungkulin niya bilang pangulo ng Pilipinas (Elective officials are not required to resign at this time, and Mrs. Arroyo is an elective official. And she always made it clear that even if she will campaign, her primary duty is as president of the country)," Olivar said in an interview on dwIZ radio.

The campaign period for candidates seeking local positions will start on March 26. The campaign period for both national and local candidates end on May 8.

The Cabinet officials who are running for local elective posts who have resigned following the Supreme Court ruling are: Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Justice Secretary Agnes Devadanera, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya and Presidential Management Staff head Hermogenes Esperon Jr. [See: (Update) Ermita, 2 other Cabinet execs quit posts]

Still to do the same are Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and chief presidential counsel Raul Gonzalez.

Won't abandon presidential duties

In the same radio interview, Olivar also said the President would not abandon her presidential duties even while on the campaign trail. "Matitiyak natin iyan (We can be sure of that)," he said.

"Ito [ang] binitawang pangako ng Pangulo, one of our hardest working presidents (Not abandoning her presidential duties was a promise made by one of our hardest working presidents)," he added.

For his part, Gonzalez said Mrs. Arroyo cannot "abandon" the presidency because her term is specified to last until June 30.

"She has a fixed term of office, she cannot abandon that," Gonzalez said in an interview on dzXL radio.

Mrs. Arroyo is running for a congressional seat in the second district of Pampanga, where her hometown Lubao is located. Last year, she visited the second district more than 50 times.

But her critics claim that her bid for a Congress seat is a step in her plan to stay in power after her term ends on June 30. They said that if Mrs. Arroyo gets elected, her allies in the House of Representatives would push for a shift to a parliamentary form of government, where she could run for prime minister. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV


Original Story: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/184821/palace-arroyo-not-resigning-getting-ready-to-campaign