Re-appointments at Pagcor hit

MANILA, Philippines - Various sectors called on President Arroyo yesterday to revoke the re-appointments of five officials of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), pointing out that these were in violation of the Constitution.

Constitutional expert Fr. Joaquin Bernas said Mrs. Arroyo virtually violated the spirit of the Constitution against appointments within the election period.

Rep. Joel Villanueva of the party-list Citizens Battle Against Corruption said the re-appointment of Pagcor chairman Efraim Genuino and board directors Rafael Francisco, Philip Lo, Manuel C. Roxas and Ester Alano Laconico-Feria was illegal.

Bernas argued that the appointments are completed only upon the acceptance of the appointees, not on the day when these were made.

Since the appointment came on March 9, it follows that the acceptance came after that day, Bernas said.

“It (appointment) is completed by acceptance. An outgoing president is just a caretaker,” Bernas told ABS-CBN.

Villanueva, for his part, said the Constitution is very clear in prohibiting any appointments in the executive department by the incumbent president two months before the presidential elections.

Sen. Francis Escudero also hit Mrs. Arroyo on the appointments of the Pagcor officials.

He said the intention of the Constitution is to allow the next president to make any appointment in sensitive government posts and government-owned and -controlled corporations.

Villanueva and Escudero said the spate of appointments made by Mrs. Arroyo might be considered a move to maintain power and influence even after she steps down from office.

Escudero said Congress has yet to approve a measure on the fixed term for the chairman and directors of Pagcor.

Thus, Escudero said any appointments by Mrs. Arroyo in Pagcor are subject for review in the next Congress and by the next administration.

He said a bill seeking to extend the term of the Pagcor chairman to three or more years was filed in 2007 but it was not passed.

Prof. Marvic Leonen, dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law, said the re-appointment of Genuino and the four Pagcor directors was completely unconstitutional.

Leonen warned the appointments could be challenged and revoked by the next president.

Earlier, former national treasurer Leonor Briones warned the next president might not be able to take advantage of Pagcor like Mrs. Arroyo did.

Pagcor is the government’s third highest revenue-generating agency.

Briones said Pagcor has been the traditional milking cow of the president.

Briones said if Mrs. Arroyo steps down from power and assumes her new role as Pampanga representative, she could still exert influence.

Malacañang defended the appointments, saying they were made before the ban on midnight appointments took effect.

Presidential Management Staff director general Elena Bautista-Horn said Mrs. Arroyo signed the appointments on March 9, or a day before the ban on midnight appointments took effect.

Bautista said the appointments were carefully studied in the wake of concerns on midnight appointments.

Under the law, Mrs. Arroyo is prohibited from making appointments to the executive branch 60 days before the elections and until the end of her term.

The Supreme Court (SC) has no comment over the legal questions arising from the appointments.

SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said the high court expects a petition to be filed questioning the appointment of the Pagcor officials.

Gutierrez said the SC ruling on midnight appointments was only for the authority of the President to appoint the next chief justice or members of the judiciary despite the election ban.

He said the appointments of the Pagcor officials is a different issue.

“It’s going to be difficult to comment on that since the extension might be questioned, and the issue might eventually reach the SC,” Gutierrez said.

Pagcor spokesman Edward King, vice president of the state-run firm’s Corporate Communications Services Department, said the re-appointment of Genuino and the four board directors could not be classified as midnight appointments.

King said the appointments are legal since they were made on March 9, or a day before the implementation of the appointment ban.

He said Mrs. Arroyo made the re-appointment of the five Pagcor officials under Presidential Decree 1869, or the Pagcor charter that allows the re-appointment of the chairman and board directors every year.

King cited Section 6 of the Pagcor charter as stating that “each director shall serve one year and until his successor shall have been duly appointed and qualified.”

“Chairman Genuino, in fact, took his oath as Pagcor chairman on March 9 before Judge Caroline Rivera-Colasito (of the) Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 23. The other board members likewise took their oath the same day. This was before the election ban,” he said.

“There was no midnight appointment. The President is just complying with the law,” King said.

King also argued that unlike Cabinet secretaries, the tenure of Pagcor officials is not co-terminus with that of the President.

“Their appointments have to be renewed every year,” he said. “Legally, officials have to serve for one year.” - Helen Flores, Marvin Sy and Edu Punay