Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo expressed his support for Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. News broke out that Romulo is favoring the late president’s son in his presidential bid came the same day that Commissioner Jaime Jacob of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) announced that he was resigning his post to support LP’s standard bearer.
Jacob’s resignation was the latest sign of cracks of the administration unity and came two months short before the official start of the campaign for the upcoming 2010 national elections. Meanwhile, Romulo was in London to accompany the president in her three-nation foreign trip when he said his support for Noynoy.
“In 2007, I voted for Noynoy Aquino [for senator], so my ties with the Aquino family have been deep and lasting,” Romulo said in an interview with ABS-CBN. “I’ve always been with Tita Cory and voted for the Aquinos.”
Asked if he would support Noynoy, Romulo answered: “I have voted for the Aquinos all the time.”
Romulo however refused to comment when he arrived with Arroyo last Monday in Saudi Arabia. “Per boss, no further comment,” a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson said in a text message to the Inquirer, which had asked to talk with the foreign secretary.
During the Cory Aquino administration, Romulo was the budget secretary and like the Aquinos, he also hails from Tarlac.
Because of some of the cabinet members’ show of support to Noynoy, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Anthony Golez said that administration officials would have to declare their unequivocal support behind the presidential bid of the administration once the choice became “official.”
“Definitely, when this administration officially supports a candidate, everybody must toe the line,” Golez said in a media briefing.
And if Romulo indeed decided to support Aquino, it would be a hard decision for him according to his son, Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo. Roman is a member of the administration party and there is no denying of his father’s closeness for Cory Aquino. He also said that his father is not affiliated with any political party.
