New EO to define Angara’s functions

Newly installed Executive Secretary Edgardo Angara has prepared a draft executive order to be signed by President Estrada which will clearly define his functions and powers as the country’s "little president."

This developed as opposition lawmakers questioned the appointment of Angara, who they believe has become a "very powerful surrogate president."

Angara told reporters that the draft executive order will not expand the powers of his office but will merely clarify their scope to avoid turf wars between him and other Cabinet members.

Angara took over the executive secretary’s post last Saturday, replacing Ronaldo Zamora who is running anew for congressman in San Juan in the May elections.

Prior to his appointment, Angara served as agriculture secretary for two years after losing the vice presidential race in 1998 as Mr. Estrada’s running mate.

Isabela Rep. Heherson Alvarez, who serves as secretary general of the opposition Lakas-NUCD party, said that with the powers in Angara’s hands, the former senator will now be serving as a "puppeteer" with Mr. Estrada acting as his "puppet."

"Now we have a delegated official in Malacañang who wields true power while the elected official, Joseph Estrada, becomes acting president for which his movie career has totally prepared him," he said.

According to Alvarez, the country now has "an unelected official who wields vast powers without accountability, while the elected president has abdicated his executive powers."

Another opposition lawmaker, Muntinlupa Rep. Ignacio Bunye, described Angara’s appointment as "undisputable proof of the President’s desperation."

He said that while Angara is known to be a technocrat who may be able to introduce a more professional work ethic at Malacañang, his appointment, nevertheless, is a clear signal that the President is no longer capable of effectively governing the country.

Bunye cited as proof to his claim the executive order that Angara drafted which reportedly contains the President’s expressed desire to be relieved of the task of day-to-day running the government.

Under the said order, he said, Angara in effect would become the "real president" while Mr. Estrada will be reduced to a "ceremonial head of state".

"If this would be the case, why doesn’t the President just resign and restore honor to the highest office of the land?" Bunye asked.

"Otherwise, ours will not be a government of the people, by the people and for the people but a government of the President, by the President and for the President," he stressed.

Party decision

Angara, for his part, said his appointment and his continued involvement in the administration of the embattled President was not his own idea but the decision of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), the political party which he heads.

"It was a party decision to stick with the alliance and help the administration which we helped elect into office," he said. "The impeachment trial will come and pass. But in the meantime, the business of running the government must continue. The presidency needs to have continuous relations with our countrymen, especially with the business community."

The President is being tried over allegations that he received hundreds of millions of pesos in bribe money from the proceeds of jueteng, a popular bur illegal form of gambling.

He is also being accused of graft and corruption which allegedly gave him and members of his family billions in ill-gotten wealth.

The impeachment trial has reportedly caused the President to be depressed. There have been reports that the daily proceedings at the Senate is preventing Mr. Estrada from performing his daily tasks.

Angara shrugged off observations that he was making himself an all-powerful executive secretary who has control over key positions in the Palace with the appointment of his reported protégéé – Ma. Celia Fernandez – as head of the Presidential Management Staff.

He said he is only sparing Mr. Estrada the burden of so much paperwork so as to allow him to focus on more important aspects of governance.

"President Manual Quezon became effective president because he was not tied down to his seat signing contracts, appointments and other details up to 2 in the morning," he said. "The President of the country needs to attend to all problems, but the details of the administration is delegated to the executive secretary."

He noted that the LDP’s decision to remain part of the Laban ng Masang Pilipino (LAMP) ruling coalition had conditions. Among these conditions, he said, was the "reform agenda" which the government is now implementing.

Included in the LDP’s reform agenda is an executive order issued by the President that spelled out a code of conduct for the relatives and friends of the Chief Executive, the vice president and members of the Cabinet.

Also part of the agenda is a national policy on gambling which the President has adopted and submitted for study to the Department of Justice. – With Bejie Villa