Arroyo gets flak for appointing Norberto Gonzales as DND chief

Jeers greeted Malacañang for its decision to replace Gilberto Teodoro Jr. with Norberto Gonzales Jr. as head of the Department of National Defense. "With the appointment of (the) much-hated national security adviser...Gloria Arroyo has just brought Adolf Hitler back to life," Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) executive vice president Lito Ustarez said in a statement sent to media on Saturday. The leftist labor group claimed that Gonzales' alleged "crimes to the people should land him in jail, not in any government post." "He is one of the worst Filipinos for the job of a Defense secretary. We are concerned that his appointment will signal another escalation of extra-judicial killings enforced disappearances and all-out militarization in the country, especially in Mindanao," the group said.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Ustarez said Gonzales, a "rabid anti-communist," was one of the brains of Oplan Bantay Laya 1 and 2, the counter-insurgency program linked to extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances of activists. He also claimed that Gonzales had already made public his hatred of leftists and other voices critical of the administration. KMU surmised that the recent visit of US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to the country might have laid the propaganda work for Gonzales’ appointment. Ustarez particularly quoted Clinton’s praise for Mrs. Arroyo for making “difficult decisions when you are on the way out of office (because) you are willing to brave the political fires." "It should be pointed out, however, that Gonzales’ appointment is not at all a difficult decision for Mrs. Arroyo, for this is consistent with the policy she has pursued in her entire term," he said. Opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson also criticized Gonzales' appointment. “Para sa akin di wise decision 'yan. Kasi kung ako may bahagi sa pagpili di ko piliin si Norberto Gonzales. Kung natatandaan mo ang investigation sa Venable sa halip na harapin niya ang issue kumain ng saging tapos diretso sa hospital," he said in an interview on dwIZ radio. (For me it is not a wise decision. When he was being investigated in the Senate he merely ate a banana and was rushed to the hospital.) Senators earlier scored Gonzales for evading answers during an investigation into his role in the Palace’s consultancy deal with US law firm Venable. GMANews.TV