Poilitics of appointments
There’s no real security of tenure in public office. One can be appointed today and immediately replaced tomorrow. This is what happened to finance official Ophelia Oliva who was appointed OIC provincial treasurer of Cebu last Wednesday only to be relaced on Friday by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima. She wasn’t able to warm her seat at the Capitol.
I couldn’t believe it. While I understand that Oliva is at the mercy of the appointing power, what happened to her was cruel especially considering that she had performed well in her previous post as Cebu city treasurer. She announced bold plans to increase tax collection in Cebu province.
Oliva is a professional worker and should be treated that way, not like a political pawn. The current practice of appointing government officials is too partisan, making it difficult for officials who don’t belong to the administration like Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama. Mayor Rama had his own trouble trying to keep Oliva as the city treasurer, which was not granted by the Department of Finance.
The mayor was not even consulted about the appointment of the Cebu city police chief. The one appointed became permanent during the election ban prohibiting movements of government personnel.
As chief executive, Rama insisted that he be given his choice of police chief. PNP headquarters in Camp Crame heard his plea and included his nominee in the list of five qualified candidates for the mayor to select.
Before Rama could exercise his option to choose from the five, PNP Regional Director Garbo announced that Senior Supt. Noli Romana was a non-performer in his latest assignment in Negros Oriental. Garbo said he was not satisifed with Romana’s work and emphasized that two of Romana’s staff were relieved of duty because of their involvement in illegal gambling and extortion.
Indeed, if Romana failed in his mission in Negros, why did the PNP include him in the short list? If Garbo’s accusation is true, Garbo could have delisted him and talked with the mayor in private about the background or dismal performance of Romana.
Garbo did not. He chose to talk like a politician and announce his evaluation of Romana even before the mayor could make his choice. I suspect that Garbo is a partisan PNP officer though I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Our police should remain professional and not engage in partisan politics in order to be effective in their tour of duty. I was informed that there is a plan for a Senate inquiry to look into similar situations like what happened to Rama and the lack of consultation in the appointment of a police chief that failed to observe the law.
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I am happy with the statement of Mayor Rama on the prospect of the South Reclamation Property (SRP). He was emphatic in a gathering of Cebu Daily News editors and columnists whom he invited for a briefing last Thursday. He said the SRP is not owned by the mayor or the city council but by the people who are paying for it through taxes.
The mayor is planning to do something with the SRP to benefit the public despite a resolution of the City Council that bars the incumbent mayor from marketing or selling the property until 2013. At the time, the council was assuming that Mayor Rama wuld not be re-elected and Congressman Tommy Osmeñna would return as the mayor.
The council apparently has changed its focus. I heard that councilors are now willing to listen to the mayor about his proposal for the SRP. One thing good is that the mayor is contemplating on setting up a master plan for the SRP so that prospective investors will be encouraged to look at the site.
