Defense spokesman Paredes resigns

MANILA, Philippines - For still unknown reasons, an outspoken official of the Department of National Defense (DND) suddenly resigned from his post on Thursday.

Lawyer Zosimo Paredes II, aside from unceremoniously relinquishing his position as head executive assistant to Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, also quit as spokesman of the department and as head of the Office of Public Affairs (OPA).

It was learned that Paredes cleared his desk on Thursday and, without any explanation, left his office along with his driver.

“We don’t know his reasons, why he suddenly resigned,” a defense insider said.

The insider added that before he quit, Paredes had confirmed his attendance at a defense meeting scheduled last Thursday.

Last Wednesday morning, The STAR, along with another defense reporter, had a casual conversation with Paredes on wide-ranging defense issues inside his new OPA office that has since been, also for unknown reasons, ordered relocated in front of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) at the back of the DND building.

For several decades, the OPA office, along with other key defense offices, has been located on the third floor of the building where the defense secretary holds office.

Another source said, “Paredes left without ceremony, only leaving his resignation letter on top of his table.”

A key member of the defunct Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), Paredes was appointed by Gazmin himself as his spokesman only last month.

Paredes immediately buckled down to work but in the process, drew flak from Malacañang reportedly for issuing unauthorized statements.

In the aftermath of the Recto Bank incident in the hotly contested West Philippine Sea last month that involved a patrolling Philippine Navy gunboat and a Chinese fishing vessel, Paredes said the Philippine government had apologized to China after the Navy vessel hit the Chinese fishing boat.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) later contradicted Paredes’ statement, saying no apology was needed for the incident.

Another incident that reportedly further irritated the Palace was when Paredes, in a media forum last week, said that in times of emergencies, a revolutionary form of government is always an option for President Aquino.

With Paredes’ resignation, Gazmin is now reportedly eyeing his chief of staff, Dr. Peter Paul Galvez, as the next defense spokesman.