Palace defends appointment of Maceda’s son

Malacañang defended yesterday the appointment of a son of Ambassador to Washington Ernesto Maceda as commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) while denying that another son would be given a Commission on Elections (Comelec) post.

Executive Secretary Edgardo Angara confirmed that Ernest Maceda Jr., the second of five children of the ambassador, would be taking his oath of office before the President on Feb. 1.

The 36-year-old Maceda will fill up the vacancy in the five-man collegial SEC body as part of a reorganization mandated by the New Securities Act. He is currently the chief of staff of Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella.

Speaking at a weekly breakfast forum of the Greenhills Walking Club at the Ristorante La Dolce Fontana in Greenhills, San Juan, Angara took strong exceptions to criticisms that the appointment of the younger Maceda was a political reward to the ambassador for serving as the personal spokesman for Mr. Estrada in the impeachment trial.

"Here is a situation where the SEC is being organized. There is a gaping hole and unless we fill it up, we may not have a reinvigorated commission," the executive secretary said.

Angara said Ernest Maceda, a Bar topnotcher and holder of a masters in law degree from Columbia, is an "eminently qualified person" for the SEC position.

"We picked a highly talented young man in Ernest Maceda Jr., and we had no hesitation in endorsing his appointment to the President," he said.

Angara belied claims by outgoing Comelec Chairwoman Harriet Demetriou that another Maceda son, Erwin, is being groomed to become a commissioner of the poll body.

In a separate interview, Maceda said his son Erwin could not be possibly qualified for nomination to the Comelec post, having ran and lost in the race for a Laguna congressional seat in 1998.

The ambassador pointed out that it was actually Ernest who had been recommended by Finance Secretary Jose Pardo for the Comelec post.