Aquino now careful in appointing gov't officials

President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III admitted that he is now more careful in appointing officials to the government, as some of his appointees continue to receive flak from various sectors of society. Aquino said his administration is now careful in filling key government positions, citing an instance when they rethought a pending appointment. "We almost made the mistake of appointing somebody to a key law enforcement position," he said in his speech during the economic leaders’ business conference at Malacanang on Friday. He said he has been getting reports that the specific individual does not have a "stellar record" and is in fact "the complete opposite of what (they) would want to achieve." He refused, however, to elaborate any further. Aquino issued the statement after PHINMA chairman Ramon Del Rosario Jr. asked him during the conference to fill the vacancies in key government financial institutions (GFIs), government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), and Philippine posts abroad. "Leaving these key posts unfilled over a long period may also convey the impression of a lack of a sense of urgency, when in fact so many issues and problems are crying for immediate attention," said Del Rosario. Earlier, it was revealed that Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, and Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz were only named acting secretaries instead of being issued “ad interim" appointments for transmittal to the CA. Aquino noted, however, that he has been "very pleased" with the performance of Baldoz as head of the Department of Labor and Employment. "She has yet to come up ill-prepared," he said. He said he first appointed her as acting secretary because he wasn't sure whether they would have a good working relationship. However, after seeing her performance, he said he has asked her to consider taking on the position permanently. "I believe she would agree to do so," he said. On the other hand, he has admitted that “differences in style" prompted him to appoint Robredo to the Department of Interior and Local Government only in an acting capacity. “There are various [reasons] why he is acting [capacity] . . . in the case of Jesse, we had some differences during the campaign, in style. We have to make sure that we can really work with each other," Aquino said. He noted, however, that he might still keep Robredo as DILG chief depending on the outcome of an evaluation. Robredo has recently received flak for the bungled handling of the August 23 hostage tragedy. On the other hand, Aquino said that they are still in the process of "correcting" certain government agencies. He specifically cited the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services (PAGASA), which recently changed leadership. "Our people are better prepared, and all it took was to replace one individual who believes he is God's gift to Filipinos," he said. Aquino was referring to Prisco Nilo, who was PAGASA administrator when the state weather forecasting system failed to predict that Typhoon Basyang was heading for Metro Manila. - GMANews.TV