Guingona eyed as panel head to WTO talks

President Arroyo was urged yesterday to name Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. as head of the government panel to the World Trade Organization (WTO) trade talks in Cancun, Mexico in September.

In making the suggestion, Sen. Ralph Recto said Guingona’s well-rounded experience as a businessman, lawyer and diplomat and his "famous stare" would be useful for the country.

During ousted President Joseph Estrada’s abortive Senate impeachment trial, Guingona, then a senator, was best remembered for his scaring gaze at colleague Juan Ponce Enrile.

When the pro-Estrada Enrile asked him if he was staring at him, he shot back: "No, I am just looking at you!"

"Vice President Guingona is the ideal tough negotiator. In an eyeball-to-eyeball trade negotiation, he is not expected to blink first," he said.

He said a negotiator like Guingona who can play hard ball is what Mrs. Arroyo needs to send to the WTO Cancun meeting.

Recto noted that in the past, the country sent representatives to trade talks and other conferences who wilted under the slightest pressure. – Jess Diaz