Palace to Cabinet critics: Go to CA

Malacañang urged critics of President Arroyo’s latest Cabinet appointments to raise their objections before the Commission on Appointments (CA) to give the appointees a chance to defend themselves.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye Jr. expressed confidence the CA will confirm all of Mrs. Arroyo’s appointees.

"The President has said to all those who criticize: they will have a chance during (hearings of) the (CA)," he said. "Hopefully all of the President’s appointees will be confirmed by the (CA)."

Bunye based his optimism on the "wellspring of support in Congress for President Arroyo’s agenda," which he believes will "be translated into the same level of support" for her appointees.

"We anticipate fairness and statesmanship from the members of the (CA) and there should be no problems as far as the competence, integrity and service potential of the President’s appointees are concerned," he said.

But nearly a month after the opening of the 13th Congress on July 26, snags have hit the organization of the bicameral CA because of questions over the distribution of seats to the different parties.

Under the Constitution, the 25-member CA must be constituted by Congress within 30 days after it begins its first regular session. The CA is chaired by the Senate president.

In an interview aired over Radio Mindanao Network, Bunye denied Mrs. Arroyo’s appointments were "political paybacks" to the people who helped her in the May 10 elections.

He asked critics to give the appointees "a chance to prove their worth."

Bunye said that a search committee for prospective appointees helped the President in the "preliminary details" but the "final decision" on the appointments was her responsibility alone.

In her partial announcement of new appointees last Wednesday in Cebu, Mrs. Arroyo said she had asked her search committee to "vet" her "choices" to ensure that none of them are "illiterates" or have "skeletons in the closets."

At the House of Representatives, a member of a pro-administration party scored the opposition for its "hysterical" criticism of Mrs. Arroyo’s appointments.

Rep. Abraham Mitra (Palawan) of the Liberal Party, which has coalesced with the ruling Lakas—CMD party in the House, defended the new Cabinet as "scandal-proof and scam-resistant."

The 34-year-old lawmaker believes the opposition is jumping the gun in criticizing the appointments because they are afraid that if the new officials "perform well," they will run out of "brickbats to throw" against the president.

"There can only be one reason why they criticized in a hysterical fashion. This is out of fear that these people would do well and thus deprive them of issues to raise against her," Mitra said.

He argued that if the new officials were "nincompoops" the opposition simply needed "wait in the sidelines" for the officials to "grope and stumble their way on their new jobs."

Among the most criticized new appointees are former defense chief Eduardo Ermita, who was named executive secretary, and former chief presidential legal counsel Avelino Cruz, who took over Ermita’s post.

Other recent appointees include former Cebu representative Ace Durano, as tourism secretary, former Iloilo representative Raul Gonzales as justice secretary, former Batanes representative Florencio Abad as education secretary, and former Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council chief Mike Defensor, as environment and natural resources secretary. — With Delon Procalla