Aquino allies are not ‘untouchables,’ Palace says
Saturday, June 11, 2011
FRIENDS and allies of President Benigno Aquino III occupying government positions are not considered “untouchables” and will not be spared from corrections, the President’s spokesman said.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda admitted that President Aquino prefers to appoint people whom he has level of comfort but it does not mean that they are not beyond criticism.
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“People close to him are not beyond correction. So let us disabuse ourselves of the fact just because a person is close to the President, he is immune from any correction or from any disciplinary action,” he said.
He cited the case of former Bureau of Correction (Bucor) director Ernesto Diokno who resigned after convict and former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste was able to leave jail without prior authorization.
The Palace official also refuted the statement of House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman questioning the President for ignoring the Department of Justice (DOJ) recommendation to suspend Land Transportation Office chief Virginia Torres.
Lacierda clarified that nothing is final yet on the decision of the President on Torres’s fate as he is still going over the DOJ’s fact-finding report and recommendation.
“We’re still going through it so we are still at that point. So we haven’t made any conclusions yet. We are just reviewing it right now. There will be an action one way or the other,” he said.
He meanwhile confirmed that Torres will still be back in LTO on June 19 after taking a 60-day leave in connection with her involvement in the attempted takeover of the office of Stradcom, the agency’s information technology provider.
Lacierda also brushed off accusations from opposition that the President is committing cronyism by appointing close friends whom they tagged as “kakampi, kaklase, and kabarilan” (KKK).
He said the president’s main consideration in appointing are “trust confidence and competence”.
He added that the people the opposition was criticizing were just a small percentage of the entire administration.
“President Aquino was the only one who has appointed the biggest number of career officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs,” he said.
In a statement, Executive Secretary Ochoa Jr. said that 93 percent of the close to 10,000 positions that require presidential appointments are already filled.
He said the nominees for the remaining vacancies are also being vetted by the Palace search committee.
“There are few vacancies left and there are already nominees for these positions. We are just in the process of screening these individuals,” Ochoa said.
In an event in the Malacanang, President Aquino swore into office more government officials who have joined his administration.
Among those who took their oath Friday at the Rizal Hall in Malacanang were Danilo Cortez, presidential adviser on military affairs of the Office of the President, the newly designated Ambassadors and officials of various government offices and departments.
The new Ambassadors include Belen Anota, Philippine Ambassador to Australia; Virginia Benavidez, Ambassador to New Zealand; Enrique Manalo, Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Bayani Mercado, Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway; Lourdes Morales, Ambassador to the Kingdom of The Netherlands; Cristina Ortega, Ambassador to the French Republic; Generoso Calonge, Ambassador to the State of Israel; Virgilio Reyes Jr., Ambassador to the Italian Republic;
Leslie Baja, Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation, Eleanor Jaucian, Ambassador to Hungary; Joselito Jimeno, Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman; Eduardo Malaya III, Ambassador to Malaysia; Meynardo Montealegre,
Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic; and Ramoncito Marino, Ambassador to the Republic of Palau.
Other officials who took their oath were Annaliza Te, Undersecretary, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); Richard Bon Moya, chief information officer, Department of Budget and Management (DBM);
Eugenio Pipo Jr., Assistant Secretary, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); Sitti Jehanne Mutin-Mapupuno, Assistant Secretary, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPPAP); Heidi Mendoza, commissioner, Commission on Audit (COA); Rasol Lampin Mitmug, commissioner, Civil Service Commission (CSC); Salvador Ner, acting administrator, Local Water Utilities Administration; Fenicar Tabao, senior state solicitor, Office of the Solicitor General; Rene Orbe, deputy director general, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA); Abdullah Mangotara, acting associate commissioner, Bureau of Immigration; Amihilda Sangcopan-Abdulhakim, acting deputy executive director, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF); Ruben Platon, acting president, Philippine Public Safety College; Victorino Manalo, executive director, National Archives of the Philippines, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA); Leslie Jeanne Cordero, vice chairman, Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).
President Aquino also administered the oath of office to the new officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) as well as Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).
They were Roberto Garcia, chairman, board of directors (SBMA).
Other SBMA board of directors were Benjamin Antonio III, Philip Camara, Ramon Sesdoyro, Norberto Sosa, Alfonso Siapno, Gerald Sam del Rosario, Wilfredo Pineda, Francis Garcia, Bienvenido Benitez, and John Philip Chua Chiaco.
The members of the board of directors of BCDA who took their oath of office were Teresita Desierto, Zorayda Amelia Alonzo, Ma. Aurora Geotina Garcia, Ferdinand Golez, and Elmar Gomez.
The President likewise swore in the newly promoted generals of the military that include Maj. Gen. Tristan Kison, commander, National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM); Maj. Gen. Pompeo Limbo, Philippine Army; Brig. Gen. Mario Mendoza, Philippine Army; Brig. Gen. Jesus Lomeda Jr., J6; Brig. Gen. Rene Pilapil, National Development Support Command (Nadescom), Comdr Antonio Mendoza, General Headquarters; Brig. Gen. Alexander Bote, Philippine Air Force (PAF); Brig. Gen. Charito Plaza, Philippine Air Force; and Brig Gen. Elihu Ybanez, Philippine Air Force. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/06/11/aquino-allies-are-not-untouchables-palace-says-160535
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