Arroyo can keep mum on 2010 plans: Palace exec

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 06/19/2009 3:52 PM

President Arroyo has opted to keep mum on her plans next year to concentrate on her duties, and the public must respect her for that, a presidential aide said Friday.

Cabinet Secretary Silvestro Bello III made the statement as former President Fidel V. Ramos challenged Mrs. Arroyo to make a "clear and positive declaration" of her political intentions in 2010.

"We still listen to him considering his position and his vast experience in governance. But we have to respect the President if she wants to concentrate on her job. Politics is not her agenda [right now]. Let's respect her for that," he said in an interview on ANC's "Dateline Philippines" newscast.

Ramos is chairman emeritus of the administration's Lakas-Kampi-CMD party.

Rumors had been circulating that President Arroyo is eyeing a congressional seat in Pampanga next year, with her critics saying that this may be connected to charter change.

Instead of keeping mum on the issue, Ramos urged Arroyo to stop deluding the people with "titillations" on the constituent assembly by spelling out her plans after she steps down in 2010.

"With precious time fleeting, (President Arroyo) must now make a clear and positive declaration to our people that she, as President, will transform herself and the nation, and not anymore delude our people, in particular her select circle of congressional cronies and family advisers, with titillations about con-ass and her future role as a Pampanga representative come July 1, 2010," Ramos said in a speech during a leadership forum on Thursday.

Bello said the President may have chosen to conceal her plans next year to prevent further criticism from the public as the end of her term nears. Given this, he urged Ramos and other critics to respect Mrs. Arroyo's decision to focus on her current responsibilities.

"We don't blame those people who would urge her on her political plans. But they also have to respect the President when she just wants to focus on her job," he said.

"Anything she'll say won't please everybody [anyway]," he added.

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