P-Noy considering Ping, Kiko for Cabinet posts

LONDON – President Aquino is considering Senators Panfilo Lacson and Francis Pangilinan for his Cabinet.

It was not immediately clear, however, if the possible entry of Lacson and Pangilinan, both no longer eligible to run for reelection next year, meant some Cabinet members would lose their jobs or simply be transferred as part of a revamp.

“Those two in particular, yes,” Aquino told reporters, referring to Lacson and Pangilinan, at a media briefing late Wednesday during his official visit here.

Aquino said the two senators would get Cabinet positions if they would come to an agreement after talks.

“Well, number one, of course we will not coerce anyone to accept any position. We will have talks with them. If they have advocacies that they think they can pursue being part of the executive, we are open to them,” he said.

Aquino though refused to say which Cabinet positions are awaiting Lacson and Pangilinan.

“I’ll have to talk with them first. They might say they are ready to help but I would like to see what they prefer,” he said in Filipino.

There have been persistent talks that Aquino wants to appoint Lacson as interior and local government secretary while Pangilinan would be Customs chief.

There are also reports that Pangilinan wanted the Agriculture portfolio.

Since Lacson was former national police chief, the most logical post that can be offered would be the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

There are also reports that Lacson would head of the Department of National Defense.

Malacañang, however, has been denying these rumors, saying there was no vacancy in the Cabinet.

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said he is ready to leave his position any time since he is serving at the pleasure of the President.

“There was no information about it (Lacson replacing him), it’s the decision of the President,” he added.

Lacson, for his part, said he would rather hear the news from the President himself.

“I would rather wait for him (Aquino) to talk to me about it before making any comment or decision. In the meantime, I will treat the news reports like what it is – hearsay,” Lacson said in a text message.

Pangilinan, on the other hand, expressed his gratitude over “being hand-picked” by the President.

“I am thankful for the vote of confidence expressed by P-Noy (Aquino) and I leave it to the President to decide where he believes I can be of help in his administration’s reform agenda,” he said.

Stay on

Sources earlier said the President did not want Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II to run for senator in 2013 as he wanted to keep his Cabinet team intact.

Aquino said here that he would prefer De Lima to stay in the Cabinet rather than become chief justice to replace Renato Corona, who was convicted by the Senate impeachment court for culpable violation of the Constitution for failing to declare all his assets.

Aquino said the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) would have to come up with the list of nominees first before he could choose.

Aquino said he could not understand why De Lima was asked to inhibit from the selection process only because her name came out as one of those being considered for the post.

“The list has to proceed from the JBC. I can’t choose apart from the list that they provide. To inhibit, why would Leila need to inhibit? Because she is being considered? Maybe I should talk to her and say you should no longer (make yourself available) to be considered for the post and just do your role as vice chair of the JBC,” he said.

Aquino added De Lima was handling so many cases and that he would like to tell her that “maybe it would be better if things” would go a certain way.

“So it can wait until I get back home,” he said.

Out of courtesy to De Lima, Aquino said he would want to talk to her personally rather than discuss all issues through the media.

“That’s a new path (of her) career. Maybe I should accord her some courtesy before I make any statement,” he said.

Bypassed, reappointed

De Lima was among five Cabinet officials whose appointments were bypassed by the Commission on Appointments (CA).

Malacañang said they would be reappointed by the President.

Malacañang believes there are other reasons why De Lima and Secretaries Robredo of the DILG, Ramon Paje of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Ramon Jimenez of Tourism and Corazon Soliman of Social Welfare and Development have been bypassed.

Aquino had to reappoint the five officials as well as Commission on Audit commissioner Heidi Mendoza following their previous failure to hurdle the CA.

Congress adjourned session on July 6, and will resume on July 22.

The CA can only act on appointments when Congress is in session.

The adjournment has also stalled the CA’s confirmation of the appointment of the Cabinet officials.

Malacañang said De Lima’s non-confirmation is not an issue in her nomination as the next chief justice.

“We believe that the JBC will not consider the fact that she was not confirmed as a basis for not considering her,” Lacierda said.

“All of the nominees will be interviewed by the JBC and they will weigh the considerations and the qualifications of each nominee based on the qualification of each nominee,” he explained.

Malacañang earlier hinted they cannot stop the nomination of De Lima and Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares.

Lacierda said the decision whether to exclude them as nominees or candidates for the top magistrate rests solely on the JBC, the independent body that screens applicants to the judiciary.

“I think the decision whether to be excluded in the nomination will be up to De Lima and Henares,” Lacierda explained, referring to their consent to the nomination.

“We have maintained that both persons are qualified to be the next chief justice,” Lacierda asserted.

“That decision does not come from us initially, it comes from the JBC. And once the names are submitted for nomination, we still don’t know if De Lima or Henares will accept it,” he added.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said De Lima and Henares should refuse their possible nomination as chief justice, as it would “raise doubts” that they wanted Corona expelled because they wanted to be appointed chief justice themselves.

Sen. Francis Escudero, a member of the JBC and one of the 20 senator-judges who voted to convict Corona, cited delicadeza in urging both De Lima and Henares to refuse their nomination.

De Lima and Henares testified before the Senate impeachment court against Corona.

[We leave it with both persons to discuss. I’m sure it is going to be deliberated by both of them very methodically, knowing the consequences of becoming a nominee for CJ,” Lacierda said. – Delon Porcalla, Christina Mendez, Cecille Suerte Felipe