Arroyo, Cabinet execs to hold final meeting, reunion

Outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her Cabinet would hold its final meeting on June 29, a Palace official said. The meeting will be followed by a small gathering of the Arroyo government’s incumbent and former Cabinet officials, Presidential Management Staff chief Ma. Elena Bautista-Horn said on Monday. The venue and list of the persons attending are still being finalized, Bautista-Horn said, adding that current Cabinet members are expected to be there. “Ang napag-usapan lang namin, siguro po merong isang kahuli-hulihang Cabinet meeting na gaganapin bago po matapos ang ating termino. And, of course, we would want that last Cabinet meeting to be short and quick basically, just to summarize our reports to be given to the next government and siguro po may kaunting salu-salo dahil nga ito ‘yung magiging kahuli-hulihang pagpupulong na kumpleto po ang aming official family," she said. (One final meeting would probably be held before President Arroyo’s term ends. A small gathering may also be held because it will be the final meeting in which the official family will be complete.) Over the weekend, Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza said former Cabinet members would be invited to join the gathering, which may also serve as a reunion of current and former members of the outgoing administration. Mendoza and Bautista-Horn see no problem if the members of Hyatt 10 — senior and Cabinet officials who quit at the height of the "Hello, Garci" scandal — plan to join the gathering. “It’s a nice stretch of arms to unify the country," Bautista-Horn said. "Hindi ko pa alam, so pag-uusapan pa namin siguro ni [executive secretary] kung ano iyung detalye... Kaibigan ko rin naman sila. Alam mo kasama ko sila sa EDSA II — kaibigan ko sila hanggang ngayon. Ako kasi parang hindi maganda na you harbor anger in your heart. I think for the sake of the country dapat walang ganunan." (The matter will still be discussed by the Executive Secretary. They’re still my friends. I was with them in Edsa II. It’s not nice if you harbor anger in your heart.) The Hyatt 10 members include former Cabinet officials Cesar Purisima (Finance), Corazon Soliman (Social Welfare and Development), Teresita Deles (Peace Adviser), Avelino Cruz Jr. (Defense), Florencio “Butch" Abad (Education), Rene Villa (Agrarian Reform), Alberto Lina (Customs), Guillermo Parayno (Internal Revenue), Imelda Nicolas ( National Anti-Poverty Commission) and the late Emilia Boncodin (Budget). Soliman, Deles, Purisima, Cruz, and Abad have been identified with incoming president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino during the election period and have even been reported to being considered in the Aquino Cabinet. - RJAB Jr/KBK, GMANews.TV