PNoy to give Paje, Robredo permanent appointments

(Updated 10:10 p.m.) President Benigno Aquino III on Friday said he will give acting Secretaries Jesse Robredo and Ramon Paje their respective permanent positions in the Cabinet. Robredo heads the Department of Interior and Local Government while Paje is the Department of Environment and Natural Resources chief. “I will be sending the recommendation to the CA. The CA, with their own processes, will decide whether or not to confirm (them)," the President said in an interview with reporters after meeting some of his Cabinet members upon his arrival from Thailand. The President came from a two-day state visit to Thailand. He admitted that Robredo's appointment was a bit delayed. "Pero dun naman na patungo ‘yun," Aquino said. Robredo has his full trust and confidence, according to the President. "I will not appoint him if I have reservations with his performance," he said. Robredo came under fire last year after the Philippine National Police (PNP), which is under DILG's supervision, failed to prevent a bloody end to the August 23 Manila hostage crisis where eight Hong Kong tourists were killed, together with their hostage-taker dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza. Aquino earlier said he was taking full responsibility for the incident – which was widely condemned both by Filipinos and Hong Kong nationals. The President stressed that Robredo should not be blamed for the fiasco because he instructed the DILG chief to focus on local government concerns. Aquino said it was DILG undersecretary Rico Puno who was assigned to oversee PNP concerns. He had also said that he and Robredo have differences in “work style" which surfaced during the last presidential campaign. Kaya Natin Movement, in a statement on Friday, lauded the President’s decision to permanently appoint Robredo, one of the organization’s founders. “This is a clear sign that Robredo has earned the complete trust and support of the President due to his exemplary performance at the DILG," the group said. They also cited Robredo’s efforts to promote transparency and accountability in all local government units, the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology “which is in line with the administration’s thrust to weed out corruption." Robredo, a Ramon Magsaysay awardee, is a former mayor of Naga, Camarines Sur. On Paje, the President said he talked with defeated senatorial candidate Nereus Acosta first before making a decision. Aquino decided to give Acosta a Cabinet rank with a different title amid a possible squabble the latter might face in DENR. — Amita Legaspi/VS, GMA News