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Monday, August 13, 2007
Guv dares vice to debate over appointments
By Marna H. Dagumboy
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The political rift between two top Pampanga provincial officials seems to be getting worse.
Governor Eddie Panlilio challenged the vice governor to a face-to-face discussion on the merits and the true intent of a letter addressed to the Provincial Board (PB) saying the appointment of Provincial Administrator Vivian Dabu and Provincial Legal Officer Maria Elissa Velez are "deemed confirmed."
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Panlilio, in a letter to the PB on Friday, invoked a provision in the Local Government Code (LGC) when he said the appointments of the two are deemed confirmed after the PB failed to act on the matter 15 days after the submission of a request from the governor for their confirmation.
The letter was read before the PB during the hearing of Dabu's and Velez's appointments at the Capitol.
The governor is also summoning Vice Governor Joseller Guiao to ask what is "unlawful" about the letter read by Dabu before the PB hearing, citing Section 463 of the LGC, which states that "the PB shall act on the appointment within 15 days from the date of its submission; otherwise same is deemed confirmed."
The PB is set to decide on Monday the confirmation of Dabu and Velez in their session at 2 p.m.
Earlier, Guiao and PB members deferred the confirmation of Dabu and Velez.
Because Panlilio's request for confirmation of their appointments was submitted to the PB on July 18, he claimed that last Friday was the 23rd day from the time he submitted the appointments for the PB's consideration.
"With your failure to act on it, I invoke the above-mentioned provisions of the law," Panlilio said.
However, Guiao felt insulted with Dabu's and Velez' actions when they chose not to participate in the proceedings of the hearing and left the session hall.
He denied that the PB did not act on the request for confirmation of the two, saying he referred this to the committee en banc and it was already scheduled for a hearing.
The vice governor said the PB took 13 not 15 days to act on the matter.
Guiao said he and the PB members did not have any idea about the letter of the governor on the "automatic confirmation" of Velez and Dabu, stressing that "they are not confirmed until we confirm them."
He added that Dabu and Velez had an excellent chance of being confirmed, but with the arrogance and "disrespect" they showed the PB, it would have to think twice about confirming their appointments. (Sun.Star Pampanga/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pampanga. (August 13, 2007 issue)
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