'Present resumés of 2 appointees'

MANILA, Philippines - Nacionalista Party (NP) senatorial candidate Susan Ople called on Malacañang to release to the public copies of the resumés of President Arroyo’s manicurist and gardener, who were both given official appointments, so that the people can judge their qualifications.

Ople, a former labor undersecretary, said she was not against the appointment of manicurist Anita Carpon and Palace gardener Armando Macapagal per se, but emphasized that there should be transparency on Malacañang’s part as far as the qualifications of the two are concerned.

“The publication of their respective resumés will settle all talk regarding competence and qualifications of these new appointees. In short, let our people be the judge since they will be paying for the salaries of these new officials,” Ople said.

Carpon was appointed to the board of trustees of the Pag-IBIG Fund while Macapagal was named deputy administrator of the Luneta Park Administration.

Ople said she was bothered by the statement made by deputy presidential spokesperson Charito Planas that the people who are questioning the two appointments are “ignoring the fact that who else could rightfully and honestly represent the lowly government employees if not the person who belongs to that bracket, and who shares the same sentiment, plight and problems.”

Planas appealed to critics to give Carpon a chance to prove her worth.

“First of all, there are no ‘lowly’ government employees. What we have are rank-and-file employees who should be equal in the eyes of all bureaucrats,” Ople said.

“Second, if the two appointees are indeed qualified to reflect and fight for the rights of the poor, then why shield them from public view? Certainly, Director Carpon and Deputy Administrator Macapagal can face the media and answer questions from the public considering the high regard of the PMS for their qualifications,” she added.

Ople lamented that thousands of government employees, particularly the contractual workers, lost their jobs as part of the streamlining of the bureaucracy.

She argued that the President could have easily chosen from among these qualified displaced government workers for the two posts or any other appointive position for that matter.

“It is extremely painful, especially for those who have lost their jobs due to rationalization, to see this cavalier distribution of government posts with sinecures and privileges to a chosen few, without even a modicum of concern about public opinion and the interest of the service,” Ople said.

Malacañang has been unable to release any information about the two appointees in spite of repeated requests from media.

However, deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar expressed confidence that the Palace would be able to defend the appointments any time and anywhere.

In an interview over Radyo ng Bayan, Olivar said the President did not do anything illegal with the appointments of Carpon and Macapagal.

He said the members of Congress or any other institution for that matter is free to look into the appointments and “we are confident that we can defend all of the appointments made by President Arroyo.”

Presidential Management Staff chief Secretary Elena Bautista, whose office is in charge of screening appointments, promised her office would provide the media with Carpon’s biodata. - With Paolo Romero