Thursday, February 15, 2007 Justice chief hits ex-Senate head statement
JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. on Wednesday lashed at former Senate President Jovito Salonga for accusing him of holding on to his post despite his repeated non-confirmation by the Commission on Appointments (CA).
At a press briefing, Gonzalez scoffed at Salonga's statements during a radio interview that he is an illegally overstaying official saying the former lawmaker "deliberately misread" the law when he said Malacanang abused its authority in circumventing the requirement.
"He (Salonga) seemed to have forgotten his law already. I'm not very much flattered by somebody who was a classmate of Pontius Pilate," Gonzalez said, referring to Salonga's advance age.
Despite his failure to be confirmed for 12 straight times, the irate DOJ chief said he will cling to his post and insist that his post is not covered by the constitutional requirement that he go through the CA because he is an "interim" appointee.
He insisted that his designation had limits to the number of years he can serve without CA confirmation so long he enjoys the confidence of the Chief Executive.
Section 17, Chapter 5 of Executive Order (EO) 292 states that the President may temporarily designate an officer already in the government service or any other competent person to perform the functions of an office in the executive branch.
Ad interim appointments are extended only during recess of Congress and are submitted to the CA for confirmation or rejection while appointments in an acting capacity may be extended any time there is a vacancy and are not submitted to the CA.
Gonzalez cited the Oct. 13, 2005 decision of the Supreme Court in a case initiated by nine senators against eight "acting appointments" issued by Malacañang in August 2004 in favor of cabinet heads including Gonzalez.
The SC decision written by Associate Justice Antonio Carpio turned down the suit filed by the lawmakers led by Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and said there was "no abuse in the present (2005) case" since the President issued fresh appointments immediately upon the recess of Congress, way before the lapse of one year deadline.
Gonzalez, who was among the eight secretaries who benefited from the ruling, has since served close to two years without securing Congress' nod since acting appointments may be extended any time there is a vacancy.
Under the present laws, the appointing authority shall be liable for the payment of the salary of the appointee if the appointment is disapproved because the appointing authority has issued it in violation of existing laws or rules making the appointment unlawful.
In the same 2005 ruling, the SC cited constitutionalist Joaquin Bernas that while acting appointments are a valid way of temporarily filling important offices, "if abused, they can also be a way of circumventing the need for confirmation by the CA."
Aside from Pimentel, petitioners in the suit were Senators Edgardo Angara, Juan Ponce-Enrile, Luisa "Loi" Ejercito, Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, Panfilo Lacson, Alfredo Lim, Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal and Sergio Osmeña III.
The dismissed petition covered the Aug. 15, 2004 appointment of Secretaries Arthur Yap (Agriculture), and the August 23 appointments of Gonzalez, Alberto Romulo (foreign affairs), Florencio Abad (education), Avelino Cruz Jr. (defense), Rene Villa (agrarian reform), Joseph Durano (tourism) and Michael Defensor (environment).
The SC however underscored that the power to appoint is essentially executive in nature ,and the legislature may not interfere with the exercise of this executive power.
Describing Gonzalez et al's appointments at the time, the SC said the essence of an appointment in an acting capacity is its temporary nature and is a stop-gap measure intended to fill an office for a limited time until the appointment of a permanent occupant to the office. (ECV/Sunnex)
