Noynoy to review reappointment of Genuino as PAGCOR Chief

President apparent Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III will review appointments of officials of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) whose terms were extended by outgoing President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The reappointment of PAGCOR Chairman Efraim Genuino will be among those up for review, Aquino said, despite Malacañang’s insistence that the matter was above board. “Pinipilit na lang ang lahat na appointment na ito, sana ipaubaya ang papasok na administrasyon. Ganoon pa man din, meron tayong mga kapangyarihan vested in the Constitution. Pag tayo naproklama minimum niyan ire-review ang appointment na ito," he said. (This administration is forcing his appointment when it should have given the incoming administration a free hand to do so. But we have options vested in the Constitution and we will review his appointment.) While he declined to say if the appointment will be revoked, he said the new administration can review it up to 90 days after assumption of office. Since Pagcor is one of the government’s biggest revenue earners such as the Customs and Internal Revenue bureaus, “(the) minimum (is that) we have to audit exactly what transpired at PAGCOR given so many allegations." Aquino said his Cabinet search committee is still conducting an inventory of which officials have fixed terms and who are co-terminus. Palace: Leave politics out of PAGCOR officials’ reappointment Meanwhile, Malacañang appealed to its critics on Monday to leave politics out of the reappointment of Genuino and four PAGCOR board members. Genuino and the four other board members’ reappointments were made March 9, a day before a 60-day ban on midnight appointments took effect, PMS head Elena Bautista-Horn said. “Kung gusto nila lagyan ng bahid ng pulitika ito labas na ito sa aking jurisdiction, ang amin lamang ang technical review ng hakbangin ng pangulo sa legalidad ng appointment (If some people insist on seeing politics in this move, leave us out of it. The PMS as the technical arm of the Office of the President made a review and it was above board)," Bautista-Horn said in an interview on dzXL radio. The presidential decree that created the Pagcor gave officials a one-year term, and has no ban on reappointment, she said. It will become illegal only if the appointment involves a term of more than one year, she added. “Ang ginawa ng pangulo bago election ban, yan ang intindi ko. Ano ang naging issue (President Arroyo made the appointment before the election ban took effect. So what is the issue here)?" she said. She also belied speculations the Palace may have antedated the appointment papers. “Personally I can say maayos ginawa ang papeles na ito above board ang lahat (Personally I can say the papers were above board)," she said. The incoming administration can change Pagcor’s charter if it wants to prevent a “repeat" of the reappointment, she suggested. “Pwede palitan ang batas para mapaiksi ang termino ng director, nasa kanila paano gagawin. Pero under the existing charter rightfully isang taon termino ang nakaupo ngayon (They can change the Pagcor charter to shorten the director’s term. But under the existing charter, the director gets a one-year term)," she said. “May remaining five years sila puwede pumili, every year pwede sila mag-reappoint o mag-appoint ng bago (The next administration has five years to select their replacements and choose to reappoint their choices)," she added. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV