Wag itong walo: Keep off worst Arroyo bureaucrats from Cabinet, workers tell Noynoy

As the camp of Sen. Noynoy Aquino hinted at retaining some past and present members of Arroyo’s Cabinet, labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno warned the “president-apparent” against picking notorious anti-people government officials who served under Gloria Arroyo to be members of his Cabinet.

KMU said Aquino’s promise of taking the nation to the so-called “Daang Matuwid” would be exposed as just an election rhetoric if he assigns crooks to key government positions.

“We urge Sen. Aquino to remove anti-worker and anti-people Arroyo-era bureaucrats from his list of prospective Cabinet members. Otherwise, it will be clear that the people will continue to suffer the same policies which Arroyo implemented through these men and women,” said KMU chairperson Elmer “Bong” Labog.

 “What Sen. Aquino should do is blacklist these architects of poverty and political repression,” he added.

KMU enumerated those who should be blacklisted as follows:

- Former Defense chief Gilbert “Gibo” Tedoro, who actively implemented the Arroyo regime’s bloody campaign against workers and activists

- Former Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who played a key role in the political killing of workers and activists and defended the Arroyo regime’s gross human rights violations 

- Labor department secretary Marianito Roque, who facilitated massive layoffs and issued numerous Assumption of Jurisdiction (AJ) orders which spelled violence in work places across the country

- Former labor secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas, who issued the AJ order for the strikes in Hacienda Luisita and Nestle Cabuyao – both of which were marred by brutality by the police and the military

- Gabriel Claudio – Arroyo’s adviser for political affairs, who engineered Arroyo’s various maneuvers to remain in power despite massive protests from the people. 

- Norberto Gonzales – one of the brains and chief implementors of human rights violations committed under the Arroyo regime. 

- DILG Sec. Ronaldo Puno – alleged by many to be Gloria’s dirty tricks department head, also responsible for various human rights violations in the country. 

- Former Energy secretary Angelo Reyes, who actively defended the overpricing scheme of Big Three oil companies