From US to Tito: A toast, birthday cake

United States Ambassador Francis Ricciardone toasted US independence, Philippine-American Friendship Day, and especially Vice President and outgoing Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona Jr., who turned 74 yesterday.

Ricciardone also presented a birthday cake to Guingona, who attended the July 4th commemorative rites at the US Embassy in Manila.

During the affair, Guingona said he opposed the controversial Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the US, only to end up having to implement it as head of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

"I am not anti-American," Guingona said. "I am only pro-Filipino."

Earlier in the day, Guingona, addressing DFA officials and employees, said "my personality and principles will not change."

Guingona, who tendered his resignation from the Cabinet effective July 15, said he will remain dedicated to his duty even after he has relinquished the foreign affairs portfolio.

"My dedication to duty will remain. Positions and power are secondary to me," he said.

Guingona stepped down as Cabinet secretary due to policy differences with President Arroyo pertaining to the deployment of US troops in Mindanao for joint military training exercises in anti-terrorism warfare with Filipino soldiers.

"And so as I say this and prepare to leave the DFA (which) I learned to love and cherish for almost one and a half years, I say that my principles and my personality will not change," Guingona said.

Blowing the 74 candles on a birthday cake given by department officials and employees, Guingona said the number also symbolized the ups and downs in his life.

The DFA chorale sang old-time favorites "The Impossible Dream" and "You’ll Never Walk Alone" during a Mass officiated by Msgr. Clem Ignacio in honor of Guingona, who has signified his intention to run for the presidency in 2004 against Mrs. Arroyo.

Ignacio said the secretary’s resignation "closed a door but opened a window through which the department’s accomplishments and legacy could be seen."

"There are positive signs which we at the outside realize and come to know. For you insiders, there are many things to learn from each other," the prelate said.

Certain DFA officials cited Guingona for sticking to his principles instead of giving in to pressure from Malacañang regarding his stance on the RP-US military maneuvers dubbed Balikatan 02-1.

"There’s something to admire about the Vice President. He never said something wrong about the President," Ignacio noted.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Merlin Magallona stressed that the DFA is tasked to uphold national sovereignty.

Being an appointee of Guingona, Magallona is also expected to resign since his term is coterminous with that of his boss.

In a lecture at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium of RCBC Plaza in Makati City, Guingona said the bigger US presence in

Asia Pacific could be sending different signals to China and other countries in the region.

Guingona also said the Balikatan in Mindanao was successful because both countries adhered to the terms of reference which served as the guidelines for the maneuvers.

Drilon bats for new post for Tito

Senate President Franklin Drilon urged Mrs. Arroyo to give another post to Guingona, saying "his experience and integrity would serve the country well by his continuously being in the Cabinet."

Earlier reports had it that Guingona was offered the post of environment and natural resources, currently held by former Sen. Heherson Alvarez III.

Denying the reports, Guingona said Alvarez was the right man for the job.

During the confirmation hearings of Alvarez, Guingona always sent his daughter in a show of support for the beleaguered Department of Environment and Natural Resources chief.

Guingona has indicated he wanted to take a rest after yielding the DFA seat, but Drilon expressed hopes he would accept another Cabinet post.

Meanwhile, pro-administration Senators Ralph Recto, Robert Barbers and Drilon expressed hopes that opposition Sen. Blas Ople would eventually accept the DFA portfolio.

Ople has rejected the offer, saying it is tied to the current stalemate in the Senate.

Recto, Barbers and Drilon argued, however, that the issue is about Ople’s qualifications as DFA secretary, not the political situation in the chamber.

"Blas Ople is a national asset who does not belong to a single party only. No partisan group can claim exclusive franchise over his talent," Recto said. "Professional expertise, not political expediency, is the basis for the recruitment."

Ople has insisted that the people’s mandate gave him until 2004 to serve as a senator.

Parrying criticisms that Ople is a greenhorn in terms of diplomacy, Recto countered that Ople was "the best president the International Labor Organization ever had."

Drilon insisted that Ople should accept the Cabinet post "so the country can benefit from his wide range of experience in foreign relations."

He allayed fears that Ople’s appointment might cause demoralization in the administration bloc.

"Being in the Cabinet of the President is a question of trust and confidence on the part of the President. I don’t think anyone can dispute the qualification of Senator Ople to become the secretary of foreign affairs," Drilon stressed.

For his part, Barbers recalled that Ople was among the first legislators to congratulate Mrs. Arroyo "for a job well done" following her visit to the US last November.

"Senator Ople has never been known to be a rabid partisan. He has reached the level of statesmanship that would make his services valued by any administration," Barbers said.

He also recalled that Ople had even urged the President to form a coalition government to speed up national reconciliation.

"I am sure that when he made that suggestion, he never thought that he would be considered for a Cabinet post. Now, he is in a position to make good his proposal," Barbers said.