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Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
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Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
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hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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Fear factor in appointment of new Chief Justice

Posted by: Alecks P. Pabico | November 15, 2006 at 2:45 pm
Filed under: Governance

SENATOR Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s inclusion in the Judicial and Bar Council’s list of Chief Justice hopefuls has raised fears that Malacañang will railroad her appointment to help its Charter change cause after the Supreme Court voted to junk the Palace-backed “people’s initiative.”

Malacañang was quick to dismiss the speculations, with the chorus of assurances coming from Solicitor General Eduardo Nachura and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez who said political considerations had nothing to do with Santiago being considered for the SC post. The feisty senator, they argued, is “learned in law, has stature, experience and qualifications,” notwithstanding the fact that she is an “outsider.”

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita also said that Santiago, while a staunch ally of the Arroyo administration, will not be accorded any special treatment, and even reminded the public that his boss, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as the appointing authority, always follows the procedures.

Ermita’s pronouncements, however, are not at all reassuring. Rather than assuaging such fears, his remarks only serve to justify the apprehensions, going by the way Arroyo has actually wielded the appointing powers of the President.

One only has to look at Arroyo’s recent appointments to ascertain if indeed she is a stickler to the rules the way Ermita tries to portray her.

Take the case of former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. whom Arroyo nominated as Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York to replace Lauro Baja.

Under the Foreign Service Act, or Republic Act 7157, the appointment of non-career individuals aged 70 years old and above to a foreign service post after 1992 is prohibited. The Act specifically states that career officials and employees of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) are to be retired once they reach the age of 65. (see PCIJ story)

Despite this law, non-career people who are past the allowed age like the 71-year-old Davide are still being nominated to foreign posts. Baja himself is 69 years old, though he is a retired career foreign-service officer unlike Davide.

Davide’s nomination to the U.N. post is seen as nothing less than a reward, after his decision to administer the presidential oath of office to then Vice President Arroyo on January 20, 2001 paved the way for her controversial assumption as President.

Last May, Arroyo also figured in the controversial selection of Antonio Kalaw as president of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP). Kalaw, the DAP senior vice president and corporate secretary at the time, was Arroyo’s personal choice, which she expressed in a desire letter conveyed to the DAP board while a search process was being conducted with no less than Kalaw as overseer. (see PCIJ story)

Kalaw was not even the most qualified candidate for the position, landing seventh among the eight contenders in a ranking made by the DAP search committee. Compared to the rest, he has no postgraduate degree and publications to his name.

Academy insiders say that Arroyo’s interest in the DAP presidency could have been tied to her desire to get a “friendly” president who will vote to oust Civil Service Commission chief Karina David from the chairmanship of the Career Executive Service Board (CESB), which rebuked Malacañang for ignoring civil-service rules, particularly in the case of former education undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz, and in effect politicizing the bureaucracy.

Arroyo’s revolving-door policy with respect to other appointments, particularly in the military vis-a-vis the choice of the armed forces’ chief of staff, has also been criticized for its perceived political motivations. The current chief, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, for instance, was among the four generals mentioned in the “Hello, Garci” tapes that suggest possible involvement in the alleged manipulation of election results in 2004 that favored Arroyo. Esperon and other top-ranking officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines were eventually absolved by a military fact-finding report of any complicity in the alleged poll fraud.

Her appointments of officials at the Commission on Elections are equally controversial. Naming Benjamin Abalos Jr. as Comelec chair in 2002 was unprecedented in the poll body’s history not only for the fact that he is a politician but because he is a known stalwart of the administration party, Lakas.

Of course, Arroyo’s other contentious Comelec appointees were Virgilio Garcillano and Manuel Barcelona Jr. A Marcos-era election official, Garcillano has been accused of masterminding dagdag-bawas (vote shaving and padding) operations in Mindanao. In the “Hello, Garci” recordings, Garcillano’s phone conversations with Arroyo depict post-election results manipulation that he apparently orchestrated, at least for Mindanao.

In all this, the Arroyo administration has defended the appointments as a prerogative of the Office of the President.

To be sure, so much discretion is given to the President to appoint members of the government bureaucracy, and even to create new positions as he or she deems fit. This has only encouraged the large-scale use of bureaucratic appointments for patronage or as rewards to family, loyal followers and generous contributors. Expanded by Marcos during martial law, such tremendous power has not been much diminished since then.

This is also not to say that previous presidents did not misuse this presidential power. As Sheila Coronel wrote in 1998 in The Pare Principle, Joseph Estrada was the first to bring this power to absurd heights.

Corazon Aquino used it to appoint relatives and friends, including her dentist and her dermatologist who were named to the U.P. Board of Regents. Aquino also got carried away with the appointments, sometimes naming as many as seven undersecretaries for one department that Congress eventually passed a law limiting the number of usecs and asecs to only three each per department.

Ramos was not more circumspect, appointing so many former military officers to crucial posts that he was criticized for militarizing the bureaucracy. He was also not above creating positions for favored friends, among them Justiniano “Bobby” Montano IV, for whom the post of deputy manager for special projects of the Public Estates Authority (PEA) was especially created. Montano would later play a prominent role in the Amari scandal, which involved billions of pesos in payoffs to various officials in connection with the sale of PEA property to a Thai real estate tycoon.

Estrada has essentially followed the same path, although this early, he has exceeded his predecessors in terms of the fancifulness of some of his appointments. He also has by far the widest range of presidential advisers and consultants, spanning every imaginable concern (a presidential consultant on fire protection, for example, and another one on APEC matters). Presidential aides say that sometimes Estrada just signs appointment papers thrust before him without much consideration of what they mean.

But Arroyo has since eclipsed Erap in the apparent capriciousness with which this presidential power has been exercised — a manner that has led to the bloating of the bureaucracy despite claims that the fat in the government service has been trimmed. A PCIJ report by Yvonne Chua in May this year pointed out that the Arroyo administration has at least 22 more undersecretaries and eight more assistant secretaries than the previous government.

In 2005, Arroyo had 85 undersecretaries and 72 assistant secretaries 19 departments. In 2000, the Estrada government only had 63 undersecretaries and 64 assistant secretaries in the same agencies.

The Arroyo government also had 1,150,681 permanent positions in national government agencies, which is 47,555 more than what Estrada had in 2000.

From the way Arroyo has been using her appointing powers, the fear therefore of a Miriam Defensor-Santiago appointment as the next Chief Justice, though now being downplayed by Malacañang and the senator herself, is not an idle one.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 and is filed under Governance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

13 people have left comments

Wowww… this is HUGE!!!

It’s a basketball championship game! Visiting Team just scored 2 huge points and ahead by a point; 2 seconds remaining; Home Team’s coach called time out; incidentally 3rd referee njured and replaced by one who is a buddy of the Home Teams’ owner.

Home Team inbounds, dribble, shoots; ball hits rim; bounces a bit to the board and falls through the basket.

1st referee signalled not counted - time expired before ball released; 2nd ref says it’s counted. (Instant reply not available.)

The question of who will win will be now on the hands of the 3rd referee - a friend of the Home Teams’ owner. What do you think will be the outcome?

I think appointing Merriam into the Judiciary is not per se bad at all bec. she has the experience in this kind of job despite some people calling her Brenda rather than Merriam. I think the only thing that she needs to do is to numb a little bit some of the nerve endings on her lips. Aside from that she is okay and I’m sure her pen will be as ferocious as her mouth.

However, should she be appointed, delicadeza dictates that she should abstain in this PI thing because she is a party to the precedent ruling under which the PI proponents is seeking to reverse. Otherwise, it’s her time to vindicate herself…!!! Oh My… What a MESS!!!
Haaayyy…Ambot sa iyong tanan!

Ambuot Saimo wrote on November 16, 2006 - 12:47 am | Visit Link

WHAT’S THE FEAR FOR?

As mentioned by AMBUOT, she is a party to the previous SC decision therefore she’ll inhibit. And even during the height of the PI deliberations she had uttered again and again that she is against PI, therefore even if she’s appointed as CJ she can’t be part of the body to rule, she’s biased and can’t be objective anymore. THE FEAR HAS NO BASIS, ALECKS!

Granting that Gloria’s objective is to appoint someone to tip the bias in favor of PI, I don’t think she’ll go for Sen. Santiago, it’s not logical, again, YOUR FEAR HAS NO BASIS.

gwaping wrote on November 16, 2006 - 4:24 am | Visit Link

but wait… if Mirriam abstains it’s 7-7 or tie. what will happen then? does it mean ruling affirmed? i hope so.

tsk… tsk… seguradong may mga magdada-diahrreang mga justices. (ingat… ingat… mga kagalang-galang na mga hukom esp. those who voted in favor of dismissal. don’t even trust your maid during deliberation.) he.. he.. he.. buhay nga naman!

Ambuot Saimo wrote on November 16, 2006 - 6:38 am | Visit Link

In the eventuality that Miriam is appointed Chief Justice, I don’t think she can take part in deciding on Sigaw ng Bayan’s motion for reconsideration with respect to the Supreme Court’s decision on its petition.

It’s not just out of a sense of delicadeza as CODAL is invoking Article VIII of the Constitution, Section 4 (2) of which states that:

All cases involving the constitutionality of a x x x law x x x and all other cases which under the Rules of Court are required to be heard en banc, including those involving the constitutionality, application, or operation of presidential decrees, orders x x x and other regulations shall be decided with the concurrence of a majority of the Members who ACTUALLY TOOK PART IN THE DELIBERATIONS ON THE ISSUES IN THE CASE AND VOTED THEREON.

But the point I was trying to make is not whether Santiago can participate in the SC deliberations or not. Rather, it’s to bring out the truth about Ermita’s claims regarding Arroyo’s supposed faithful adherence to procedures in the appointment of government functionaries.

The fear is not so much having Santiago in the Supreme Court (though not a few people have expressed wariness at the thought) but in how Arroyo has been having her way — unchecked and without deference to rules — in wielding presidential prerogatives to suit her political ends.

Alecks Pabico wrote on November 16, 2006 - 11:11 am | Visit Link

That exactly is my point too, Alecks.

If Gloria appoints Mirriam, is it against the rule? What rule?

And what political end? Definitely not a favorable ruling for PI, as you have said, Mirriam can’t participate.

gwaping wrote on November 16, 2006 - 5:51 pm | Visit Link

There is no law that bars the appointment of Senator Santiago to the Supreme Court. There is no law against designating her as Chief Justice.

I am not even sure she can be prevented from voting on Lambino because they can always say that the Court is still deliberating on the case after the Motion for Reconsideration was filed.

Alecks, is the PCIJ not looking into the effectiveness of the JBC? If we examined who the JBC has been nominating and who the President has been appointing in the last 20 years we might be able to address the issues on you post.

I think an examination of the JBC as it turns 20 years old would be a great idea.

monk_x wrote on November 16, 2006 - 10:45 pm | Visit Link

MONK, YOU HIT IT RIGHT!!!

THERE SHOULD BE A BETTER WAY OF CHOOSING THAN THRU THE JBC…but I don’t know, is it provided in the Constitution? So, do we amend the Constitution now hik, hik, hik

gwaping wrote on November 17, 2006 - 12:36 pm | Visit Link

As you know, there are also unwritten rules. Tradition is what they’re collectively called. A sense of delicadeza is one. Why appoint a known political ally, to the position of Chief Justice no less, if it’s not politics as usual? It’s for this very reason why the Judicial and Bar Council was introduced — to eliminate politics in the appointment of members of the judiciary in order to attain and preserve its independence as a branch of government.

Appointment on the basis of seniority is another. But I leave Atty-at-work to enlighten you on the principle, which though not a legal requirement, has been respected by past presidents, with the notable exception of Marcos and Arroyo.

Alecks Pabico wrote on November 17, 2006 - 3:17 pm | Visit Link

[...] Six candidates have been nominated to replace Panganiban. Among them is Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, whose nomination by the Young Lawyers Association of the Philippines has been criticized by former Senate president Jovito Salonga. Santiago’s confirmation as a candidate has also sparked fears that Malacañang will railroad her appointment in order to assist its efforts at Charter change. [...]

INSIDE PCIJ » Groups urge public interview of Chief Justice candidates wrote on November 17, 2006 - 4:18 pm | Visit Link

All I am saying is that Arroyo would be within her right to appoint Senator Santiago because the law does not prohibit her from doing so, tradition and seniority notwithstanding.

If we want to find a better way to select Justices, gwaping, we should first study the JBC’s performance. If the Constitution has to be amended then we will have a basis for the proposed change.

monk_x wrote on November 17, 2006 - 10:43 pm | Visit Link

Thank you for your suggestion on the JBC, monk_x. We’ve already started our research on this.

Alecks Pabico wrote on November 17, 2006 - 11:19 pm | Visit Link

miriam, who once talked of the Commission of Appointments as a horse-trading agency, is now up for appointment as Chick Justice of the SC (to borrow djb’s description of miriam’s appointment as CJ).

if reports here and here are true, JPEPA is one bargaining chip as miriam is willing to lawyer the government for its senate ratification. this is in stark contrast to her bothered conscience days before the Ledac meeting in malacañang. she even proposed that gloria restudy the agreement.

i don’t know…but, i guess, it looks like she is a horse-trader herself…

baycas wrote on November 18, 2006 - 6:35 pm | Visit Link

Question:

All this time, why hasn’t there never been a secretary, undersecretary, under undersecretary in charge of mass-poverty issues?

FrancisLantin wrote on November 20, 2006 - 10:29 am | Visit Link