Romulo: Ax man, bearer of bad news

He may be low-profile, but he has a big ax and isn’t afraid to wield it.

While Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo may be considered the most low-profile "Little President" to ever serve at Mala-cañang, he has played the role of "ax man" for President Arroyo, breaking the bad news to his Cabinet colleagues who have fallen from grace and gotten the pink slip from the Chief Executive.

Romulo was the bearer of bad news to sacked Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor and Environment Secretary Heherson Alvarez, whom the President replaced Saturday.

Montemayor was replaced by Luis Lorenzo at the helm of the Department of Agriculture and environment activist Elisea Gozun took over the top post at the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources from Alvarez.

Two days before the official announcement of Alvarez and Montemayor’s replacement was made, Romulo personally called them up and called them to a meeting at the Palace.

Romulo also did the same thing when the President finally decided to accept the resignation of Vice President Teofisto Guingona from his concurrent post as foreign affairs secretary last July.

He was the emissary of the President in communicating with Guingona, who publicly engaged the President in an argument over policy differences.

Montemayor said he received a call last Thursday from Romulo asking him to come to a meeting at the Palace.

"(Romulo) told me that the President would announce on Saturday morning that I would have to go," Montemayor said.

Montemayor also said Romulo asked him if he would be willing to be appointed to another position and gave him several choices. "(Romulo) informed me that the President would like to personally talk to me about it over breakfast at the Palace the next morning."

When Mrs. Arroyo spoke with Montemayor, the outgoing DA secretary said, she indeed brought up his possible new appointment, but added that he declined the offer "out of decency."

While he said he has improved a lot in terms of satisfying the performance demands of his DA post, Montemayor said he feels no rancor over his replacement.

Alvarez, on the other hand, told The STAR Romulo invited him to his office at Malacañang after the Cabinet meeting at the Palace Thursday.

Romulo, Alvarez said, "asked me if we could have a ‘man-to-man’ talk and I said, fine by me."

During their talk, Alvarez said, the Executive Secretary broke the bad news to him about the President’s plans to remove him from the Cabinet because of certain considerations she needs to take if she is to pursue her programs that need prior congressional approval and support.

"I acknowledged the fact that I have stepped on a lot of toes among these congressmen and that’s their (the Palace’s) assessment," Alvarez said, "I understood (President Arroyo), about how complicated the problems she has to deal with (are). I reassured her I would continue to deliver her promises to the people."

Romulo, Alvarez said, also informed him of possible Cabinet-rank positions being prepared for him once he steps down from the DENR helm on Dec. 15.

"It’s good. It’s another challenge," Alvarez said, but declined to say what post was offered to him.

Alvarez also told The STAR that Romulo has shifted DENR Undersecretary Manuel Sanchez to work under him as executive assistant at the Office of the Executive Secretary. Prior to this, Sanchez was Press Undersecretary and he was moved to DENR from the Office of the Press Secretary.

These changes foreshadowed by Romulo’s telephone calls and one-on-one talks have the Little President’s Cabinet colleagues feeling dread at being called by him, though such calls and talks were once routine things.

Romulo has shunned media interviews since he assumed his post as executive secretary, saying he no longer has any political ambitions. "I am more effective to help the President do her job this way," he said.