I have no regrets serving Estrada — Banayo

"I have no regrets serving the President."

Breaking his silence since his resignation Friday, President Estrada’s former political affairs adviser Angelito Banayo said the last two weeks were the most agonizing in his life.

"I wish beyond this we will still be friends. There was nothing personal at all here. When you are no longer effective, then it’s time to go." He said he enjoyed a very close professional relationship with Mr. Estrada and was torn between deciding whether or not to stand by his boss. In the end, he decided to leave with a clear conscience.

Banayo maintained that he knew nothing about the corruption allegations hurled by former presidential drinking and gambling buddy Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson.

"It’s difficult defending the President if you don’t have the complete picture. I was never part of his inner circle. I don’t know personally the friends of the President; I just see them. So when Chavit made the charges, I didn’t know about it," he said.

Banayo said there were instances where he felt his advice was ignored by the President and his other advisers.

One instance was Mr. Estrada’s nationwide address last Monday promising reforms that was followed by a stony appearance of top military and police officials.

Banayo said he was telephoned by then Trade Secretary Mar Roxas who told him that he was needed at the Presidential Palace to draft a statement.

He learned about the plan to make the generals air their support for the President after Mr. Estrada’s speech and vigorously opposed it.

"I suggested that Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado should be the one to make the statement because he is a civilian. Letting the generals speak there would send the wrong message," he recalled.

Since Mercado was then in Geneva for a conference, he suggested that Interior Secretary Alfredo Lim issue the statement. Lim would be flanked by Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes and Director General Panfilo Lacson, chief of the Philippine National Police.

As Banayo expected, the menacing appearance of rows of generals and police officials backfired and the political opposition took it as a threat of force.

The following day, Malacañang officials were busy trying to undo the damage.

Another incident, Banayo recalled, was last Thursday night when he urged Mr. Estrada to preempt the defection of Speaker Manuel Villar and several pro-administration congressmen.

He had learned from several congressmen close to Villar that the Speaker was bolting the administration LAMP coalition.

To blunt the defection, Banayo argued in a meeting at Malacañang that Mr. Estrada issue a statement saying that he was letting his partymates go to hasten the impeachment proceedings so the President could air his side in a Senate trial.

That way, Banayo explained, Villar’s defection would make it appear that the Speaker had listened to the President. Banayo said he even had a speech drafted without Mr. Estrada’s go signal.

However, Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora, his brother Manny and LAMP Congressman Danilo Suarez, who were at the meeting, doubted that Villar could possibly bring with him 40 congressmen. At best, Villar could bring seven, the three insisted.

Suarez even showed a list of 143 congressmen who signed a House resolution supporting Mr. Estrada. Banayo said he estimated that Villar could take 15 congressmen with him.

"I said even if Villar would leave alone, that would have an impact because he is the fourth highest official of the land," Banayo said.

At it turned out, about 40 congressmen resigned en masse from the LAMP with Villar last Friday. It was a serious setback for Mr. Estrada who was earlier counting on the LAMP’s majority in the House to kill the impeachment complaint.

Banayo said it was Zamora who suggested that a referendum be held to resolve the jueteng scandal by letting the people decide if Mr. Estrada should stay or go. Banayo said he opposed it because it required legislation and funding, which was a problem for the cash-strapped government.

As it turned out, Mr. Estrada suggested it anyway but the political opposition – who wanted no less than his immediate resignation – didn’t bite.

Banayo also disclosed that he opposed a negotiated agreement between government-run corporation Duty Free Philippines and businessman Lucio Co, an alleged presidential crony.

It was agreed that Duty Free would lease its outlets in Laoag, Cebu, Clark and Davao for five years and P100 million monthly.

He said it violated an administrative order that stipulated that such contracts be bidded out. Banayo said Tourism Secretary Gemma Cruz-Araneta unilaterally revised the administrative order to suit the contract.

As general manager of the Philippine Tourism Authority, from which he also resigned last Friday, Banayo said he refused to sign the agreement.

He feared that Co might use the outlets as fronts for his alleged smuggling activities. Banayo added that the outlets were actually losing money so he could not see how Co would be able to remit P100 million to Duty Free each month.

Banayo said it was during his last two weeks as political adviser that he realized that most of those who opposed his suggestions were either previously connected with the hated Marcos regime or never had any experience opposing a political leader in the streets.

"I was the only one, and Secretary Mercado, who knew how street parliamentarians worked," he said.