Erice, Malonzo officially part ways

Neophyte Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice, officially cutting off his political ties with City Mayor Reynaldo Malonzo, yesterday said he has submitted and declared his "irrevocable resignation" from the Lakas Party, where Malonzo is the local party chairman.

This developed as Malonzo two weeks ago sacked 42 of Erice’s staff and his four security aides in a move seen as "too early politics" because of party in-fighting. Erice vehemently opposed Malonzo’s alleged decision to field his wife as party candidate in the May 2004 mayoral race.

Following what he said was his dissatisfaction with the latest moves of Malonzo, who allegedly failed to consult with his partymates on certain major decisions, Erice said he has written Lakas chairman Teofisto Guingona, with Malonzo copy furnished, expressing his "irrevocable resignation" from the party but curiously without citing his reasons for severing his ties.

He said he is now an independent in Congress as far as he is concerned adding that the Liberal Party is currently wooing him. Sources said the solon is considering his options at the moment but may jump in and possibly get appointed as local Liberal Party chairman.

Erice told the STAR he resigned from Lakas last week "because I can no longer support many of the party’s [read: Malonzo as party chairman] decisions".

"His (Malonzo’s) plans should be acceptable to the party. I am not in favor of (Gigi Emnace) to run as mayor but he continues to insist despite obvious party resistance to the idea. I believe that the next (candidate for) mayor should come either from the present crop of capable and skilled local city officials or from partymates and not from his (second) family. He has not consulted with us, his partymates, on this particular issue. The party decision, as it is, must be collective and not unilateral," Eric said in an interview. Erice added that he resigned from Lakas "para hindi na kami magkabangga (so that we won’t be crossing swords)".

"From now on, I will have nothing to do with nor get affected by whatever decision he makes as local Lakas party chairman," the lawmaker told the STAR.

Erice disclosed that Malonzo may have vented his ire on his staff because of his stubborn resistance to Malonzo’s idea of pushing his [common-law] wife, Gigi Emnace, as the party’s next candidate for mayor in the 2004 elections.

Not long after his much-delayed proclamation as mayor-elect in last year’s polls, the STAR witnessed Malonzo telling his inner circle of city and police officials, among them Erice, at the city hall conference room abutting his office that "gusto ko babae naman (I want a woman this time)" when asked who he is grooming as his probable bet for the mayorship, this being his third and final term as mayor.

Erice railed at the mayor saying he is not in favor of Malonzo’s "perpetuating" himself in power when there are many more among his partymates and the local city officials with greater capability, proven skills and know-how than his wife.

"His choice may not necessarily be myself. But the decision on this issue should come from the collective decision of the party and not himself alone," Erice said.