Coloma eyed for CSC, Aguinaldo for COA

Communications Sec. Sonny Coloma. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines–Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., an aide to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa and a reported ally of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas are said to be on President Aquino’s short-list of candidates to head three constitutional bodies mandated to ensure good governance, the Inquirer learned from a well-placed Malacañang source.

Coloma is reportedly being eyed to chair the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Deputy Executive Secretary Michael Aguinaldo appears to be headed to the Commission on Audit (COA), while former COA Commissioner and Mayor Rowena Guanzon is likely to be appointed chair of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), said the source, who asked not to be named for he was not authorized to speak on the matter.

The three constitutional bodies have been without heads for the past month and a half following the Feb. 2 retirement of Francisco Duque III from the CSC, Grace Pulido-Tan from the COA and Sixto Brillantes Jr. from the Comelec.

At his regular briefing with Palace reporters, Coloma said only the President could say whom he wanted to appoint to head government agencies.

“It may not be appropriate for me to comment because it would be self-serving. I will continue to focus on my work with you,” Coloma said.

Coloma added that it would be “premature to make any preemptive statement” regarding his reported appointment to the CSC.

The President has yet to make a formal appointment to the CSC, COA and Comelec despite assurances by his spokespersons that the Chief Executive is vetting candidates to fill the vacant positions.

Aguinaldo has been the deputy executive secretary for legal affairs since 2011. He is also among the Malacañang lawyers who are deeply involved in the government’s peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Aguinaldo teaches at Ateneo School of Law and was a partner in the Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles Law Office.

A graduate of Philosophy from De La Salle University in 1987, Aguinaldo took up law at Ateneo de Manila University and placed seventh in the bar exams in 1993.

Guanzon served as mayor of Cadiz City, Negros Occidental. She earned her Economics degree from the University of the Philippines.

She later graduated in the Top 10 of her class in the UP College of Law. She taught at the college.

Guanzon was among those interviewed by the Judicial and Bar Council to fill a vacancy in the Supreme Court. The seat eventually went to former Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza.

It remains unclear when Aquino plans to appoint the new CSC, COA and Comelec heads.

Two offices of Comelec commissioners also remain vacant, after Lucenito Tagle and Elias Yusoph stepped down.

The President has also yet to appoint a replacement for his friend, Alan Purisima, who resigned as head of the Philippine National Police following the Mamasapano debacle that cost the lives of 64 people, including an 8-year-old girl.

The Palace earlier said that two weeks ago, Aquino interviewed the PNP officer in charge, Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina, and Deputy Director General Marcelo Garbo Jr., chief of the PNP directorial staff, as Purisima’s possible replacement.

However, with Purisima still in active service, the Palace is faced with a dilemma because only the PNP chief can have the four-star rank.

Purisima resigned only as PNP chief and not from the police service. He is set to retire in November. Purisima was serving a six-month suspension for corruption allegations when the President consulted with him on the police operation to take down Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan.”

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