JONAS CABILES SOLTES, INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON/PHILIPPINE RED CROSS
MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang must appoint a permanent replacement for the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo if only to avoid replicating the “painful experience” he had of working on an acting capacity for a year before he was named permanently to the post.
“I hope the next secretary would not go through the painful experience of being ‘acting.’ It means (the appointing power) was tentative of the appointment,” Senator Gregorio Honasan said.
Robredo was appointed to the Department of the Interior and Local Government on an acting capacity when President Benigno Aquino began his term in June 2010.
No official explanation was given and the public eventually learned that the functions of the department were divided between Robredo and his undersecretary Rico Puno. Robredo was given authority over local governments while Puno was given supervision over the Philippine National Police.
This arrangement surfaced only during the investigation of the fiasco at the Quirino Grandstand on August 23, 2010 when the PNP was widely criticized for its failure to subdue dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza who took a busload of Chinese tourists hostage and killed several of them.
Under the law, the interior and local government secretary, as ex-officio chair of the National Police Commission, has control and supervision over the PNP.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile hinted at this irregularity in an interview in which he was asked about Robredo’s possible replacement.
He said the DILG portfolio “does not only involve politics but also law enforcement…. If it’s all politics without law enforcement, mahirap ‘yun. If it’s all law enforcement and no politics, mahirap din ‘yun,” he told reporters.
“You have to get somebody who has the virtuosity to handle the job, like a conductor directing (an orchestra),” Enrile said.
Enrile and Honasan urged the President to look beyond allies in the Liberal Party in choosing Robredo’s replacement.
Honasan noted that although the names being floated all seem qualified, the “high standards set by Secretary Robredo himself should call for criteria that go beyond the vicious cycle of personality-oriented selection.”
So far, the names of Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Panfilo Lacson, Cavite Representative Joseph Emilio Abaya and Albay Governor Joey Salceda have been heard as possible successors.
Abaya and Salceda are LP members. Abaya reportedly enjoys the support of the “Balay” faction in the Aquino cabinet led by Transportation and Communication Secretary Mar Roxas.
LP Senator Franklin Drilon urged the President to name Robredo’s replacement “by the next two weeks,” given the urgency of peace and order preservation in the country.
“I believe the vacancy should be immediately filled. The President should be able to make a decision in the next two weeks because ideally, we cannot allow (the DILG) to be run by remote control by the Office of the Executive Secretary,” Drilon said.
He added being Mr. Aquino’s party, the LP can recommend a list of party mates to the DILG post “but we would leave it up to President. He has been exposed to all potential candidates in terms of policy, programs and work ethic.”
Honasan, however, would rather that Aquino take his time in choosing Robredo’s replacement.
The President should adhere to the high standards set by Robredo in the DILG to include dedication, competence, vision and humility, he added.
Honasan said Malacañang should look beyond political allies and choose a DILG chief who has “competence, experience and who enjoys the trust and confidence of the political authority.”
“I think if they will tap Senator Lacson to head that department, he will do very well because he’s trained. He’s a law enforcement person and his (training was) under that department,” Enrile said.
“In terms of the political content of that function, he’s familiar with the breadth of responsibility because he’s exposed to national politics. He has met the local leaders of the country, he has gone all over the country and (understands) the problem of law and order,” Enrile added.