ILOILO CITY— Citing personal reasons, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, one of President’s Macapagal-Arroyo’s most fiery and trusted men, will step down from his office even before the November deadline for the filing of candidacy for next year’s elections.

Aside from wanting to prepare early to run for mayor of Iloilo City, Gonzalez said he also wanted to leave his post at the Department of Justice (DOJ), which he has held for five years, to seek treatment for an ailing son and because of difficulties keeping pace with the President’s schedule.

“I serve at the discretion of the President. But I want to spend quality time with my family and Ilonggos,” Gonzalez told the Inquirer on Sunday.

Gonzalez said he and his wife, former Zambales Rep. Pacita Trinidad-Gonzalez, were planning to bring their 38-year-old son Jose Mari to the basilicas of Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal to pray for his recovery from palsy, a condition characterized by uncontrolled movement and paralysis of parts of the body.

“His condition is worsening. He has difficulty standing up, walking and eating. We will go there hoping for a miracle,” Gonzalez said.

He said their trip has only been delayed by the outbreak of the dreaded A(H1N1) flu infection.

Gonzalez, 77, who underwent kidney transplant in September last year, said he was also experiencing difficulty with the out-of-town meetings of the Cabinet.

“(The meetings) are the most difficult. For the last three months, we have been holding Cabinet meetings out of town,” he said.

Gonzalez said during their last meeting in General Santos City, he had to travel by land for four hours to Davao City to catch a flight to Manila.

A known workaholic, he also cited his workload at the DOJ, which includes supervising nine attached agencies.

“I sign around 100 naturalization applications alone daily,” he said.

His family had wanted him to retire when his kidney ailment worsened but he chose to stay to continue serving the government, he said.

“Let us admit that we are not getting any younger. And I’m not sure of getting appointed (to a Cabinet post) by (the) next president. So it’s better to be prepared,” he said.

Gonzalez pointed out that around three-fourths of the members of the Cabinet would resign by November to run for various positions.

He said these include Secretaries Ronaldo Puno (Interior and Local Government), Arthur Yap (Agriculture), Francisco Duque (Health), Jesli Lapus (Education), Gilberto Teodoro (Defense), Cerge Remonde (Presidential Spokesperson), Nasser Pangandaman (Agrarian Reform) and Anthony Golez (Deputy Presidential Spokesperson).

Gonzalez said he would most likely run for mayor, which would be vacated by last-term Mayor Jerry Treñas, his close ally.