Palace: Aquino should be free to appoint people

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Wednesday said that although it respects Senate rules, President Benigno Aquino III should have power to appoint who he wants as long as they are competent.

“The President should have the free hand to appoint people who he believes are competent, that will further the public good,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a televised press briefing.

He was replying to questions on whether Malacañang will agree to the proposal that a presidential appointee bypassed thrice by the Commission on Appointments (CA), composed of lawmakers, should be automatically rejected.

President Benigno Aquino III. AFP FILE PHOTO

“I think that would be limiting the power of the President to appoint…I hope they revisit that particular rule, considering the fact that the reasons for being bypassed may not necessarily be based on meritorious grounds but may be based on some political grounds,” he explained.

Lacierda said that on the basis of merit alone, Cabinet secretaries have done what was expected from them.

The Palace press briefing was held hours after Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima faced members of the CA.

Soliman’s appointment was recommended by a CA panel amid the absence of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago who has been planning to block the Secretary’s confirmation.

Soliman’s confirmation will soon be tackled in plenary for final approval.

Meanwhile, De Lima again failed to sway the Commission to side with her after she was met with strong opposition from Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and Sandra Cam, president of the Whistleblowers Association of the Philippines.

Estrada accused her of receiving P1 million per month from former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) while she was still head of the Commission on Human Rights.

On the other hand, Cam claimed De Lima ignored her tip about the escape of Joel Reyes, governor of Palawan, and his brother Mario, former Coron mayor, who are facing murder raps.

She also said that De Lima removed a whistleblower from the witness protection program amid exposing anomalies in the Bureau of Customs.

In the affidavit she submitted to the CA, she also accused De Lima of having ‘illicit affairs’ with former intelligence officer Cesar Mancao and her married driver Ronnie Dayan.

But Lacierda said the Secretary did well during the hearings.

“She came out and she was able to confidently respond to all those allegations, plus the fact that she is to going to submit a written reply on some of the allegations raised by Senator Jinggoy Estrada,” he said.

He added that De Lima has already answered the claims of Cam.

“I think it will be good if the deliberations will be focused on the competence, the performance of a Cabinet official, and not other extraneous matters that do not involve the competence or the performance of the Cabinet official,” Lacierda said.

Nevertheless, he said the CA has “free rein to touch on anything.”

“It’s up to the Commission (on Appointments) chair to discern or to decide which question should be proper or not,” he said.

Lacierda said an appointee who is bypassed will be given an ad interim appointment until he is confirmed or rejected by the CA.

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