Palace exec to Cabinet officials: Support admin bet or resign

If they cannot support the administration candidates in the 2010 elections, Cabinet officials might as well do the "honorable thing" and resign from their posts, a Malacañang official said Tuesday.

While clarifying there will be no loyalty checks on Cabinet members, Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that resignation would be the proper move for Cabinet members who cannot toe the administration line. "Kami ang alter-egos of the president. So kapag ‘di na namin pwede suportahan ang choice ng presidente, the only honorable thing to do is leave the Cabinet. Oo, kasi di pwedeng ikaw alter-ego ng presidente e iba ang paninindigan mo sa pangulo," Bello said in an interview on dzXL radio. (As Cabinet members of Mrs. Arroyo, we are alter-egos of the president. If we cannot support her choice, the only honorable thing to do is to leave the Cabinet. You cannot have alter-egos of the president having different views from your boss.) Bello’s reminder came amid reports that Foreign Affairs Sec. Alberto Romulo hinted that in 2010, he would vote for Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III instead of Defense Sec. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. Teodoro is expected to be the administration bet after he was chosen by the Lakas-Kampi-CMD national executive committee last week to carry the torch of the ruling party in the 2010 polls. [See: Lakas-Kampi picks Teodoro as 2010 standard bearer] On the other hand, Noynoy has been named standard bearer of the Liberal Party, with Senator Manuel Roxas II as his running mate. Cory supporter On Monday, Romulo was quoted in an ANC report as saying that his ties with the Aquino family run deep. "In 2007, I voted for Noynoy Aquino (for senator), so my ties with the Aquino family have been deep and lasting. I’ve always been with Tita Cory and voted for the Aquinos," Romulo said in an interview in London. Romulo is a known supporter of the late former President Corazon Aquino, and had served in her administration as budget secretary. During the 1998 elections when Mrs. Aquino supported the tandem of Alfredo Lim and Serge Osmeña III, Romulo acted as the campaign manager. Romulo is also from Tarlac, home province of the Aquinos. Romulo, too? While Bello said he respects Romulo as a "very respectable, very credible, very effective member of the Cabinet," he also expects the Foreign Affairs secretary to do what he thinks is proper. "I have very high respect for him (Romulo). I know when he makes a decision it is for a very good reason and I know that he knows what he will do after he makes his statement," Bello said. When asked if Malacañang expects Romulo to resign, Bello replied: "Knowing him, I think...Sec. Romulo will do what is proper under the circumstances." GMANews.TV tried to reach Romulo for reaction, but DFA spokesperson Ed Malaya said Romulo is in Saudi Arabia as part of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's delegation. Next week, Romulo will be in New York. "I have no instructions [to issue any reaction on the matter]," Malaya told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. In Tuesday's radio interview, Bello also commended Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) commissioner Jaime Jacob for resigning to support Aquino. "This is a free democratic country. We respect the decision of Commissioner Jacob. I’m glad resign muna siya bago nagsabi ng plano sa pulitika (I’m glad Jacob resigned first before expressing his political preferences)," Bello said. On the other hand, Bello insisted there is no need for a loyalty check of the Cabinet, saying all of them are aware that if they cannot support Mrs. Arroyo’s choice, "we have no other honorable choice except to leave the Cabinet." - with Sophia Dedace and Kimberly Tan, GMANews.TV