PLM president Tuquero under fire

TUQUERO

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) recently invalidated the appointment of Artemio Tuquero as president of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), citing his lack of a doctorate degree, but the former Court of Appeals justice said he remained unfazed and would not step down.

“I’m not disturbed or perturbed by that decision. To me, it’s nothing because they nullified something that does not exist,” Tuquero told the Inquirer. “The PLM president, being an official elected by the Board of Regents, does not need any appointment.”

Tuquero, former dean of the College of Law of the University of the East and of Manuel L. Quezon University, served as secretary of the Department of Justice under then President Joseph Estrada, who is now mayor of Manila.

Upon Estrada’s assumption as mayor last year, he appointed Tuquero to the PLM Board of Regents, a move supported by the city council.  Tuquero was later unanimously elected university president by the board members during a special meeting on July 19, 2013, giving him a six-year term ending in 2019.

During the administration of Mayor Alfredo Lim, Tuquero’s appointment as president of Universidad de Manila (UDM)—another city-funded institution like PLM—was twice invalidated by the CSC, which then cited his being too old for the position.

Tuquero recalled that he also assumed office as UDM president by virtue of his election by its Board of Regents, “which is the mode of choosing said official under the UDM Charter. Obviously, the invalidation of the appointment did not adversely affect my continuing to serve as UDM president and receiving the compensation.”

But early this month, the CSC once again nullified his term as PLM president, this time “for failure to meet the education requirement.”

‘Appointment not in order’

“This Office finds the appointment of Attorney Tuquero as University President not in order. Thus, there is cogent reason to invalidate subject appointment,” CSC Director IV Lydia Alba Castillo said in a March 6 letter addressed to the PLM University and Board Secretary Carlos Carlos.

“In the absence of any qualification requirements set by law or proposed by the PLM and approved by the CSC, it is deemed proper to refer to the qualification requirements prescribed for the position of University/College President under the 1997 Qualification Standards Manual,” the CSC letter said.

In February, lawyer Reynaldo Bagatsing, son of former Manila Mayor Ramon Bagatsing, wrote Estrada asking him to recall the appointment of Tuquero.

Bagatsing claimed that “administrative and criminal abuses (were) openly committed by the mentioned officials, especially Justice Tuquero, which are putting indelible blemish not only on the Iglesia ni Cristo (of which Tuquero is a member) and its distinguished leaders, which you respect very much, but more so on yourself.”

Bagatsing said Tuquero, for instance, had failed to pay an info-tech supplier,  MY EMR Solutions Inc., in violation of the company’s contract with PLM, which was signed before Tuquero’s appointment.

Pending complaint

The company has a pending complaint in the Office of the Ombudsman against Tuquero and Carlos for their refusal to pay P17.9 million for a 2009 project designing PLM’s communication network.

Tuquero said the attack on his qualifications was brought about by this issue. “Apparently it has something to do with the claim which the previous administration and I refuse to honor because of the finding of the Commission on Audit saying that the contract had technical deficiencies.”

He said he had not discussed the matter with Estrada, his appointing power, since “he does not meddle with this.”

Tuquero has sent an official reply to CSC Chair Francisco Duque III through a March 26 letter signed by Carlos as university legal counsel.

The letter maintained that CSC’s decision to invalidate his appointment was “uncalled for” and “devoid of any basis” since the PLM presidency is an elective position with a fixed term.

“Precisely because elective officers belong to the noncareer service that the PLM Charter does not prescribe any qualification standards for the University president,’’ it stressed. “The PLM Charter deems it sufficient for one to be elected University President that he be one of the Regents appointed by the city mayor with the consent of the city council.”

It was also “highly improper” for the CSC to apply the 1997 Qualification Standards Manual because a manual promulgated by an administrative agency cannot prevail over a statute like the PLM Charter, it added.

“It may be worthy to mention that (Tuquero) was recently the recipient of the Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from the Urdaneta City University on Feb. 27,” the letter also noted.