Guingona to undergo confirmation process?

Should Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments (CA) as foreign affairs secretary?

This legal question emerged over the weekend as Southern Leyte Rep. Aniceto Saludo Jr. urged Senate President and CA chairman Franklin Drilon to have Guingona go through the usual confirmation process as one of the Cabinet members of President Arroyo.

"Considering the sensitive position of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the conduct of our foreign policy, it is imperative that Mr. Guingona be subjected to the usual process of confirmation," said Saludo, vice chairman of the House delegation to the CA.

Saludo made the suggestion even as Malacañang insisted that Guingona was not covered by the CA because of an exemption clause in the 1987 Constitution.

In his letter to Drilon, Saludo disputed Malacañang’s position that Guingona is constitutionally exempt since the precedents cited by the Palace would not apply to Guingona.

According to Saludo, the 1987 Constitution altered by amplification the traditional exemption extended to the vice president.

"It is best to test the mettle of Mr. Guingona in the CA, considering recent reports that he failed to support his own staff in the face of badgerings by (the US chargé d’ affairs Michael Malinowski)... He was not elected with and in the same manner as the President, a condition clearly stated in the 1987 Constitution that the Palace now invokes," Saludo explained.

Saludo contended that though former vice presidents Emmanuel Pelaez and Salvador Laurel held Cabinet posts without CA confirmation, the exemption could not apply to Guingona because of varying circumstances.

"Mr. Pelaez served under the 1935 Constitution, Mr. Laurel under the Revolutionary Constitution of President (Corazon) Aquino and both were elected with and in the same manner as their president," Saludo said.

The congressman held the 1987 Constitution sets out the condition of being elected Vice President for Guingona to be exempt from CA confirmation.

Saludo called for the immediate resolution of the evolving constitutional crisis, considering the diplomatic initiatives of Mrs. Arroyo.

"We cannot have a cloud of constitutional infirmity hanging over the head of the chief implementor of our foreign policy," Saludo said.

Saludo likewise hit Guingona for apparently caving in to the "contumacious behavior of Malinowski," saying it betrayed the "spirit of the Filipinos who stood up against Americans with bare hands and bolos."

"It is bad enough that Malinowski acts like the US High Commissioner of a bygone era. Worse yet our own Secretary of Foreign Affairs did not have the backbone to call Malinowski’s bluff. These Americans should be told in no uncertain terms that they cannot use intemperate language in dealing with our diplomatic corps or ordinary Filipinos for that matter," Saludo said.

Visiting Force Agreement executive director Elmer Cato complained Malinowski hurled invectives at him over an argument on the unilateral exercises being conducted by the US Air Force.

Guingona and Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes will be summoned by the Senate committee on foreign relations to shed light on the reported unilateral flights as well as Malinowski’s alleged arrogant behavior.