Rodrigo Duterte of Davao is people’s favorite for DILG post

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Who is the people’s choice to replace the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo?

Let’s take a look at the results of an online voting survey conducted by ABS-CBN’s Anthony Taberna in his “Punto por Punto” segment of the very popular “Umagang Kay Ganda program”:

Davao City Vice Mayor Rody Duterte got 44 percent of the votes from viewers who called, texted or posted their votes on Facebook or Twitter.

Duterte was followed by former Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca, with 22 percent; Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas, 9 percent; Manila Mayor Fred Lim, 7 percent; Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, 6 percent; Vice President Jojo Binay, 5 percent; Sen. Ping Lacson, 4 percent; Cavite Rep. Emilio Abaya, 2 percent; and Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa, 1 percent.

I called up Rody Duterte Tuesday to ask whether he would accept the DILG post if it was offered to him.

His answer: No!

Here’s a guy who’s very much qualified for the most powerful Cabinet post because of his experience and expertise as a local official, yet, he’s rejecting it.

If I were President Aquino, I would do everything short of kneeling down before Duterte to convince him to accept the position.

* * *

I have witnessed man’s brutality to his fellowman as a police reporter for many years and as host of a public service program on radio that helps the oppressed and the downtrodden.

But nothing comes close to the indignity and oppression suffered by housemaid Bonita A. Baran, 21,  reportedly inflicted on her by  her employers, Reynold and Annaliza Marzan of 75 Las Villas del Cielo, Visayas Avenue, Quezon City.

Bonita told me the Marzans beat her up every day for small mistakes she made for five years.

The Catanduanes native, who is not even a grade school graduate, has gone blind after her eyes were allegedly gouged by Annaliza.

She showed my staff and I at my radio program “Isumbong Mo Kay Tulfo” scars on her face, scalp and back allegedly inflicted by the Marzan couple.

The scars were caused by being hit on her lips with a vase, struck with the butt of a gun on her eyelid, hit with hard objects on her head, or a hot iron pressed on her face, she said.

Bonita added that the Marzans made her eat cockroaches a few times.

I thought some employers in the Middle East were brutally cruel—yes, I’ve received many complaints from former maids of these households—but the Marzans are far more cruel.

* * *

Persida Acosta, head of the Department of Justice’s Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), told me that charges of serious physical injuries and serious illegal detention have been filed by her office against the Marzans.

The charges are nonbailable.

Those are not human acts, and if the Marzans are proven guilty, they should rot in jai

Mar Roxas is the new DILG Secretary

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Jesse Robredo as the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is a very tough act to follow.

But Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas has accepted the challenge. He is the next DILG secretary, a highly placed source in Malacañang confirmed to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Thursday night. He takes over from the late Robredo who died in a plane crash on August 18.

Cavite Representative Joseph E.A. Abaya moves over to the Department of Transportation and Communications, the highly placed source also confirmed to the Inquirer.

Both Roxas and Abaya are stalwarts of the Liberal Party (LP), which is led by President Benigno Aquino. At the request of the Robredo family, both served as pallbearers during the state funeral rites for Secretary Robredo and both had been highly tipped to succeed the latter.

At least three LP members in the House of Representatives on Thursday said the President had made up his mind to move Roxas over to the DILG to sustain the gains made by Robredo who expanded the LP membership among governors and mayors.

No reply

Roxas has not replied to calls on whether he would accept the DILG post if offered by President Aquino.

Abaya, chairman of the House appropriations committee, on the other hand, had declared he would accept the job if offered by the President.

Others whose names had been bruited about, like Vice President Jejomar Binay, were quick to end speculations about their appointment to the DILG. Binay, who pulled a surprise win over Roxas in the May 2010 elections, has announced he will run for president in 2016, said he had no interest in the job.

He suggested, though, that Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., whom Mr. Aquino appointed officer in charge during the search for permanent DILG secretary, was qualified for the post, having been a top Quezon City Hall executive for years.

Control of DILG

Another Malacañang official said the party’s top brass had lobbied to the President to make control of the DILG by the party a priority over problems on criminality and the spread of illegal numbers games like jueteng, with the approach of next year’s midterm elections.

Another LP member of Congress, who refused to be identified for lack of authority to speak for the party, said LP leaders had made a strong pitch to the President to keep the DILG in the party’s hands during a lunch in Naga City shortly after Robredo was laid to rest last Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the LP held a meeting at its “Balay” headquarters in Quezon City to swear in new members from several provinces. An LP member present said the DILG vacancy issue was not taken up then as party leaders had already talked to Mr. Aquino in Naga the day before. The Balay headquarters is in the Araneta-Roxas family compound in Cubao.

But Iloilo Representative Jerry Treñas, another LP member who attended Robredo’s interment, said Mr. Aquino and other party leaders merely had lunch and talk of Robredo’s replacement never came up.

No discussion

“There were many guests at the lunch, including Cabinet members. No discussions were made on LP matters including the question of who would be the next DILG secretary,” said Treñas in a phone interview.

Abaya and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad Jr., another LP stalwart, did not reply to the Inquirer’s calls.

Former Isabela Governor Grace Padaca, whose name was also floated as a possible Robredo replacement, appeared uncomfortable being mentioned along with the likes of Senator Panfilo Lacson, Davao Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, who headed the DILG in the Estrada administration.

“I’m amused when the matter is talked about. They mentioned Duterte, Lim, Lacson, then Grace Padaca. It’s like I’m being lined up with these competent tough men (mga barako),” she said in Filipino in a media forum at Quezon Memorial Circle.

“Para lang akong salinggit (I’m just a runt alongside them),” she said.

But she added: “Hindi naman ibig sabihin na kami pong mga galing sa local governments ay hindi po namin kaya ’yan (But that’s not to say that we who came from the local governments cannot do the job),” she said. “Kakayanin, kakayanin talaga kung nandun yung challenge. Bakit hindi? (We’ll be able to measure up if challenged. Why not?).”

Padaca downplayed reports she was being considered for the DILG post, saying her name was mentioned probably only as part of “political chatter.” She said there were no such discussions in the Liberal Party, of which she is a member.

Meanwhile, DILG employees who are still mourning the loss of Robredo said they were ready to support his replacement, a DILG official said Thursday.

‘Back to normal’

Interior Undersecretary Austere Panadero said that while the employees were still grieving, operations were “back to normal.”

“The people are still in shock … it will take time but normal governance processes are ongoing,” Panadero said.

He said that among plans being pursued by Robredo before his untimely death on August 18 in a plane crash off Masbate was the relocation of informal settlers from Metro Manila.

“Well, of course, the new secretary would also have to pay attention to that, but at the moment what I’m saying is that Secretary Robredo had clear plans on how to deal with that so we are carrying them out,” Panadero said.

Robredo was found dead

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MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – The body of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo was found Tuesday morning, Transport and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas II said.
"At 8:15 a.m. kumpirmadong ang isa sa mga katawan ay kay Sec, Robredo," Roxas said.
Reports have yet to be confirmed if the bodies of Capt. Jessup Bahinting and Nepalese Kshitiz Chand have already been retrieved.
Divers found the plane's fuselage around 7:30 a.m. Robredo's body was found inside the fuselage at 7:45 a.m. His body was brought to shore at 8:40 a.m.
Roxas said the remains of the Interior secretary was found 800 meters off Masbate at 180 feet deep.
Robredo's wife, Atty. Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo, has been informed personally by President Aquino, according to Roxas.
"The President was very quiet, he sought absolute confirmation. Nung kumpirmadong-kumpirmado na, he wanted to make sure na may malapit kay Ma'am Leni na katabi niya. Ma'am Leni was in her house at malayo pa ang mga kilala naming malapit sa kanya, pinagpasyahan na sabihin kay Ma'am Leni na direkta," he said.
"Iyung dalawang pilot nakasubsob sa cockpit, so si Sec. Robredo ang unang nakuha at dahan-dahang inakyat," Roxas said.
Roxas said a technical diver was able to identify Robredo after being briefed of the Cabinet official's last attire.
"The diver could not come up directly, so he sent up his slate with information that the fuselage was found and 'yun ang sinabi na may indications na si [Sec. Robredo ang natagpuan]. Binigyan siya [ng information] sa bihis ni Sec. Jess, ang sunod na balita na pinaabot niya ay si Sec. Jess nga," he said.
Jun Lavadia, the family's spokesperson, is not available for comment at this point. The house of the Robredos was also closed to the media, a radio dzMM report said.
Robredo's older brother, Butch, also asked for more time before the family could release a statement.
Bahinting's wife Margaret, meanwhile, said: "I have just been thankful to God because this morning I was praying na ma-retrieve na ang mga katawan nila na sana hindi na matagal. Whether they are dead or alive, as long as makita ko ang katawan."
The small Piper plane carrying Robredo, his aide, and two pilots crashed 150 meters away from Masbate airport around 4:30 p.m. Saturday as it attempted to make an emergency landing due to engine trouble.
Robredo’s aide, Jun Abrazado, survived the crash and was rescued from the site on Saturday.
Robredo’s plane came from Mactan, Cebu and was headed to Naga City when it encountered trouble. He was rushing home so he could attend an afternoon awarding ceremony for his daughter, Jillian, who won a swimming competition in the Palarong Panglungsod.
President Benigno Aquino III went to Masbate early Sunday morning to oversee the search and rescue efforts.
The 54-year-old Robredo was appointed by President Aquino as secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government on July 9, 2010.
Robredo finished his undergraduate at the De La Salle University with a degree on Industrial Management Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.
He finished his Masters in Business Administration at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman before taking up Public Administration at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Robredo was elected mayor of Naga City in 1988 at the age of 29. When he took office, Naga was a poor third-class city with low revenues and a stagnant economy.
Robredo partnered with private businesses to revitalize the city’s economy and re-organized Naga’s transportation systems. By 1990, Naga had become a first-class city and Robredo was re-elected.
Robredo was a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 2000, Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Robredo was cited by the board of trustees as “giving credence to the promise of democracy by demonstrating that effective city management is compatible with yielding power to the people.”
Robredo is survived by his wife, Atty. Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo, and his three children, Aika, Patricia and Jillian Therese.

Robredo's body was found- Mar Roxas

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 MANILA, Philippines – Technical divers have recovered the body of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, Transportation and Communication Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas said on Tuesday.

An emotional Roxas broke the “sad news” at a briefing at 9:15 a.m., saying that Robredo’s body was found 800 meters from the shore at a depth of 180 feet at 7:45 a.m .

“The body has indications that it belongs to Sec. Jess,” said Roxas as he tried to fight off tears.

The remains of the Department of Interior and Local Government chief has been pulled from the fuselage and brought by rubber boat to one of Philippine Coast Guard’s vessels. It is now on its way to Naga City, Roxas said.

Recovery was difficult as the fuselage had overturned but operations continued to retrieve the bodies of the two pilots who were found inside the Piper Seneca plane. “Nakasubsob ‘yung dalawang piloto sa loob ng cockpit kaya si Sec. Jesse ang unang nakuha ng diver (The two pilots were inside the cockpit that’s why they recovered Sec. Jesse’s body first),” said Roxas.

“Sa pamilya nina Captain [Jessup] Bahinting and the Nepalese co-pilot [flight student Kshitiz Chand], tuloy po ang recovery operations. Hindi ito para lang kay Sec. Jesse (The recovery operations for the remains of Captain Bahinting and the Nepalese co-pilot are ongoing. This is not only for Sec. Jesse),” said Roxas.

President Benigno Aquino III has been told about the development and has personally informed the DILG chief’s wife, lawyer Leni Robredo.

“The President has already called Mrs. Leni,” said Roxas.

Roxas asked the media and the public to give the Robredo family time to cope with what has happened. He also told them not to disrupt forensic experts who will be examining the bodies.

The official confirmation came after four days of massive search and rescue operations headed no less by President Aquino.