The Little President

The resignation of executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez from his post last Saturday finally ended the speculations that he would be vacating his office following the sugar importation mess and other controversies that bogged the early days of the BBM administration. Rodriguez, however, was not the first appointed es to leave or be fired from his post the soonest after a new President assumed office. Peter Garrucho left office just a month after he was named es by President Fidel V. Ramos following a controversy over the grant of tax breaks to miners. Rodriguez outserved Garrucho by a month. A Little President cannot act puny if he wants to keep his big title.

The Office of the Executive Secretary is a very powerful position and is normally given to one who enjoys the complete trust and confidence of the President. While he is a member of the President’s cabinet, the Executive Secretary is considered as “primus inter pares”—the first among equals. You will note in the cabinet meetings, the ES is seated on the right hand side of the President and is given a more prominent seat than the other members of the cabinet. He exercises ample powers as the chief alter ego of the President. He can review and modify decisions of other cabinet members on appeal and he can discharge numerous other functions as may be assigned to him or delegated by the President from time to time. He can issue orders in the name of the President and attest the actions of the President. When the Philippine government was in exile in the US during the war, the ES was named as the first in line of succession in the event that both President Manuel Quezon and VP Sergio Osmeña Sr. die or become incapacitated. Thus, it is no accident that he is known as the “Little President.”

The position of the ES originated from the American colonial government when Act No. 167 of the Philippine Commission established on July 16, 1901 the Executive Bureau headed by an Executive Secretary. The principal duties of the ES was to assist the Civil Governor,

later the Governor General, in performing his executive duties. The position was continued under the Commonwealth government with the appointment of Jorge B. Vargas as the ES of President Quezon. This time the ES was conferred the rank of a cabinet secretary, given his own office and staff and a budget was appropriated for its operations.

During the Martial Law years, the ES was abolished and replaced by a Presidential Assistant by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 831, S. of 1975. However, when Cory C. Aquino assumed the presidency, she restored the position and named Joker Arroyo as her first ES. Under the Administrative Code of 1987, the ES was tasked to assist the President in “the management of affairs of the government as well as to direct the operations of the Executive Office.”

As Vic Rodriguez had described the job after holding it for less than 12 weeks, “The work of an Executive Secretary is a 24/7 job with myriad topics expected to be attended to every day. It demands a sense of urgency which essentially requires almost all of a public servant’s time to ensure that services are met and delivered.”

Distinguished men, unfortunately no woman, had held the post of ES. The most illustrious Filipino to serve as ES was Manuel A. Roxas, who was Pres. Quezon’s ES while the latter was in exile in the US. Roxas had already held the positions of

Speaker and Senate President before his appointment as ES. After the war, he was elected as the President of our Republic. The other prominent names that occupied the position were: Don Emilio Abello who was the ES of President Jose P. Laurel during the Japanese occupation and the first ES of President Roxas after the war. Abello also served as the first ES of President Elpidio Quirino when the latter succeeded Roxas. Abello was the only person to serve as ES of three Presidents. He later became a successful business and industry leader.

Fred Ruiz Castro was President Ramon F. Magsaysay’s first ES. He was a former Judge Advocate General and the first military man to be appointed as ES. He was later appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court when President Marcos became President in 1966 and elevated to the position of Chief Justice in 1976. Other members of the military who served in the same position included A lejandro Melchor, Jr., the longest serving ES of Ferdinand E. Marcos; Alexander Aguirre, the last ES of President Fidel V. Ramos; and Renato de Villa, the first ES of President Gloria M. Arroyo. After General de Villa, President Arroyo appointed two other generals as her ES, General Eduardo Ermita and General Leandro Mendoza. Renowned elected public servants held the post such as Edgardo Angara, who briefly held the position during the critical period of President Joseph Estrada’s presidency. He was already a former Senate President and a VP aspirant when he was tapped by President Erap to be his ES. Teofisto Guingona, Jr. had already won two terms in the Senate when he was appointed ES by President Ramos in 1993. Likewise, Alberto Romulo already completed two Senate terms when he accepted the position of ES from President Arroyo in 1991 following the resignation of de Villa. When President Arroyo came to power, Guingona was named as her Vice President. On the other hand, some former ES were elected to exalted positions after their stint as ES. Ernesto Maceda, ES of President Marcos in 1969; Joker Arroyo, the first ES of President Cory, and Franklin Drilon, the last

ES of President Cory. They all served several terms as senators after their services as ES.

A distinguished public servant with gravitas who served as ES but did not throw his hat in the political ring was Rafael Salas. He wielded great power during his time as the ES of Pres. Marcos and was a center of influence among his fellow cabinet members. Some did not succeed in running for national office like de Villa who failed in his presidential bid; Oscar Orbos, ES of Pres. Cory was frustrated in seeking the vice presidency, while others like Juan Pajo, ES of President Carlos P. Garcia; and Ruben Torres, one of those who served as Pres. Ramos’ ES, failed in their senatorial attempts.

The Office of the Executive Secretary is the gatekeeper of the President. Practically no one gains access to the tenant in Malacañang unless cleared by the ES. Definitely, it’s a privileged position but it’s one that will easily earn the enmity of many powerful personalities who are displeased by the ES. This eventually results in a power struggle among the President’s allies who may want to ease out the ES and install one of their own to occupy the powerful position. Warring factions are created until one side becomes the dominant camp. This took place during the time of President Cory where other cabinet members were opposed to ES Arroyo. This was also true during President Erap’s time when the Presidential Management Staff was at loggerheads with the ES. In the event of an impasse, what normally happens is a major cabinet reshuffle where some good and qualified public officials are sacrificed. If one side wins in the power struggle, the targeted official is removed, pressured to resign or transferred to a less sensitive and powerful post.

Where power resides, intrigues abound. The center of power becomes a snake pit where chicanery rules and anyone becomes a fair game. I hope this is not what occurred in the case of Rodriguez. Whether this will resolve infighting among the President’s men remains to be seen. Rodriguez stays in power as the newly designated Chief of Staff and this may only spell trouble ahead.