Roxas bids goodbye but President says: Not yet

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas resigned on Monday, but President Aquino asked him to stay on a bit longer to attend to unfinished business and for a smooth transition at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

In a statement, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Roxas handed his resignation letter to Aquino Monday afternoon but the President turned it down hours after telling reporters he would.

Coloma quoted Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. as saying that the President convinced Roxas to stay on and handle urgent matters and lead the transition to a new leadership at the DILG.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on Saturday that Roxas would resign soon to avoid being accused of using DILG resources to boost his campaign for Malacañang.

President Aquino announced at a gathering of Liberal Party (LP) members and administration allies on Friday that Roxas was the candidate he would support in next year’s presidential election.

Roxas announced his departure Monday morning, saying he would hand in his letter of resignation in Malacañang in the afternoon.

But President Aquino, after speaking at the 111th anniversary celebration of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in the morning, told reporters that he would try to convince Roxas to stay longer “to finish a lot of things.”

Aquino cited the Philippine National Police modernization program and the relocation of informal settlers from danger zones among the unfinished business at the DILG.

“I’d like him to finish a lot of the things that can be finished before leaving the post and have the transition period,” Aquino said.

New DILG chief

The President said he was considering several people in the search for Roxas’ replacement at the DILG but he declined to name them.

But sources said Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, former Alaminos Mayor Hernani Braganza and Interior Undersecretary Austere Panadero were among those being considered to take Roxas’ place at the DILG.

Iloilo Rep. Jerry Treñas said Sarmiento, the LP secretary general and former Calbayog City mayor, would make a good secretary of the interior.

“He (Sarmiento) is focused, dedicated and result-oriented. [He is one] of Roxas’ top advisers and [he is a] problem solver. He is only in his second term but I am certain he is ready to make a sacrifice for public service if necessary,” Treñas said.

The Inquirer saw a copy of Roxas’ one-page letter of resignation thanking the President for allowing him to be part of his Cabinet.

The letter bore Roxas’ handwritten message to Aquino, “Dear Sir” and “Maraming salamat po (Thank you very much).”

Roxas assured Aquino that he would be “on call” and that he would immediately start the turnover of all concerns at the DILG.

“It has been my highest honor as a public servant to have been part of your team and to have journeyed the [straight path] with you,” Roxas said, using the slogan for the Aquino administration’s reform program.

“I take this opportunity once more to sincerely thank you for your trust and confidence in me to carry on the fight for [the straight path]. I meant every word I said in my response. I will not let you and our bosses down,” he said, referring to the Filipino people.

Roxas also praised President Aquino for bringing the Philippines “to the mountaintop.”

“Allowing me to be a part of this journey has given more meaning and fulfillment in my life. Thank you very, very much,” he said.

Tearful goodbye at DILG

In a tearful farewell speech to DILG staff on Monday morning, Roxas said he would not leave immediately as the President had asked him to lead the transition at the department.

“I will always be proud of my association with you,” Roxas told about 200 DILG employees at the farewell program held at the department’s office in Quezon City.

“I personally asked for this chance to say goodbye to all of you. Like you, I also feel sadness,” he said, his voice cracking.

The DILG has administrative supervision over the PNP, the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

Roxas cried as he joined some DILG employees in singing Florante’s stirring hit “Handog,” one of his favorite songs.

A number of DILG employees also cried as they wished their outgoing boss good luck in his campaign for Malacañang.

“As a boss, he did well. We wish him luck,” said a teary-eyed Ma. Lizel Bautista, an executive clerk at the DILG. “He pushed for systemic reforms in the PNP. He’s a systems man.”

Lilibeth Masangkay, who works at the DILG planning office, said Roxas worked for a more transparent process in the procurement system in the department.

“He was very particular in the details of [our work],” Masangkay said.

Goodbye at PNP

A shoo-in for his close friend, the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo who died in a plane crash in 2012, Roxas also attended Monday’s flag-raising ceremony of the PNP at Camp Crame to bid farewell to the 160,000-strong police force.

In his speech, Roxas cited the reforms that the PNP had initiated and accomplished despite the controversies that stumped the police organization, including the deaths of 44 police commandos in a botched counterterrorism operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, on Jan. 25.

He also lauded the PNP for bringing down the crime rate in Metro Manila by more than half since it adopted the “Oplan Lambat Sibat” last year.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the PNP, may God protect you and keep you in His embrace. It has been my pleasure and a great, great honor to have served with you,” Roxas said.

“When we mention the police of today, most of the people look at you as [winners] and not [losers]. You must have heard what the President has been saying: Wherever we are deployed, we should leave that assignment in a better situation. There’s no doubt you have accomplished that,” he said.

According to Roxas, he and the President had already discussed his intention to step down from his post as well as his possible replacement.

Roxas, however, declined to disclose who would succeed him, saying he did not want to preempt Aquino.

But sources said the President would likely give the DILG portfolio to the LP’s Sarmiento.

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