Palace ready to defend 'midnight appointments' but...

Malacañang is ready to defend so-called “midnight appointments" by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo before a possible Senate investigation, but warned senators against summoning the chief executive to the probe. Presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo has reminded senators that the executive and legislative branches of government are co-equal and should extend courtesy to each other. “Ito ay karapatan ng Senado at titingnan natin ang kanilang magiging kahilingan sa gobyerno na magpaliwanag. Sa Hunyo pa naman magtitipon uli ang lehislatura, bahala na sila ano ang kahilingan, ating sagutin (This is the right of the Senate to conduct an investigation and we will see what they will do. Congress resumes in June and we leave it to them to lay down the rules of the investigation)," Saludo said on government-run dzRB radio. Mrs. Arroyo has been getting criticisms for making a series of so-called midnight appointments, including heads of some government agencies, in past weeks. Saludo insisted the appointments were made before the deadline, and that they were needed because the officials to be replaced were either retiring or running in the May elections. “Ito ang appointment na pinuno ng ahensya o may aalis dahil tatakbo o magre-retire o kaya may iba pang dahilan ... Normal ito ay gagawin sa mahabang panahon, ilang linggo o buwan (pero) dahil may deadline kailangan sabay-sabay," he said. (The officials to be replaced were to retire or to run for election. The appointment could have spanned months but since there is a March deadline before a ban on appointments kicked in, Mrs. Arroyo had to make several appointments) On Friday, Senator Francis Pangilinan said the Senate will investigate the appointments when Congress resumes sessions. Both Houses of Congress resume sessions May 31 and adjourn sine die on June 4. “We are totally appalled by the shameless abuse of authority. We will make sure that the Senate of the 15th Congress will look into these bogus and illegal appointments and that the guilty parties will be held accountable for their acts," Pangilinan said. On the other hand, Saludo said the Senate investigation should not include Mrs. Arroyo, as he reminded the Senate of the co-equal branches of government. “Gaya ng sa Saligang Batas, magkapantay ang pangulo at Kongreso. At kung hihilingin nila diretso ang pangulo timestigo di ito pinahihintulutan ng Saligang Batas (The Constitution decrees the president and Congress are co-equal. If the Senate demands that the president testify, the Constitution will not allow it)," he said. Appointments allowed At the Justice Department, Secretary Alberto Agra said Mrs. Arroyo’s “midnight appointments" were legal and did not violate any laws. In a radio interview, Agra said the president is not prohibited from appointing officers-in-charge or officials on an acting capacity. “Maglalabas po ako ng official statement tungkol po diyan at ang nakalahad sa aking statement ay hindi lumabag ang presidente sa kanyang pagtatalaga ng mga appointees, kung saan ang deadline nga ay nitong March 10. Wala pong appointments ang presidente na ipinagbabawal (I will come up with an official statement this coming week. The gist is that the president did not violate any laws in making the appointments)," Agra said in an interview on Bombo Radyo. Excerpts of the interview were posted Saturday on Bombo Radyo’s website. — LBG, GMANews.TV