PNoy's allies in govt not untouchables — Lacierda

Friends and allies of President Benigno Aquino III occupying posts in government are not untouchables and beyond correction, a Malacañang official said Friday. At a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda also said that these friends of the President in government composed only a small percentage of the whole bureaucracy. "It’s so easy to say that because you’re a friend, you would be untouchable. But that is not true. The President is committed to good governance," Lacierda said. He made the statement amid accusations from the minority bloc at the House of Reprentatives that the President is committing cronyism by appointing close friends to key government posts. The latest appointee of the President was his defeated running mate and Liberal Party president Manuel Roxas II who will assume the Department of Transportation and Communications post to be vacated by Secretary Jose 'Ping' de Jesus next month. Aquino is also expected to appoint LP defeated senatorial candidate Nereus Acosta as his adviser on climate change and disaster risk management. "People close to him (Aquino) are not beyond correction. So let’s disabuse ourselves of the fact that just because a person is close to the President, he is immune from any corrections or from any disciplinary action," Lacierda said. He cited the case of resigned Bureau of Corrections director Ernesto Diokno, a former police general who received a lot of flak over the unauthorized 'vacation' of former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste last month. "If the President sees that there’s something wrong, he will reprimand. In the case of Totoy Diokno, he did so. He told him straight the first time he saw him that he was very displeased with what happened in the BuCor," he said. The same with the case on-leave Land Transportation Office head Virginia Torres who was subjected to an investigation, the result of which is now being reviewed by Malacañang. Level of comfort Lacierda admitted that the President appointed people close to him because he wanted to have some level of comfort when dealing with them. He further said that President Aquino was the only one who has appointed the biggest number of career officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs. He said the President chooses his appointees based on trust, confidence and competence. Also on Friday, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said 93 percent of the close to 10,000 positions that require presidential appointments have been filled, while nominees for the remaining vacancies are now being vetted by the Palace search committee. "There are few vacancies left and there are already nominees for these positions. We are just in the process of screening these individuals," Ochoa said in a statement. Appointees Earlier in the day, President Aquino swore into office 79 appointees to different positions. Among those who took their oath at the Rizal Hall in Malacañang were Heidi Mendoza, commissioner of Commission on Audit (COA); Salvador Ner, acting administrator, Local Water Utilities Administration and Danilo Cortez, presidential adviser on military affairs of the Office of the President. The new ambassadors include Belen Anota, Philippine ambassador to Australia; Virginia Benavidez, ambassador to New Zealand; Enrique Manalo, ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Bayani Mercado, ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway; Lourdes Morales, ambassador to the Kingdom of The Netherlands; Cristina Ortega, ambassador to the French Republic; Generoso Calonge, ambassador to the State of Israel; Virgilio Reyes Jr., ambassador to the Italian Republic; Leslie Baja, ambassador to the Swiss Confederation; Eleanor Jaucian, ambassador to Hungary; Joselito Jimeno, ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman; Eduardo Malaya III, ambassador to Malaysia; Meynardo Montealegre, ambassador to the Hellenic Republic; and Ramoncito Marino, ambassador to the Republic of Palau. Other officials who took their oath were Annaliza Te, undersecretary, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); Richard Bon Moya, chief information officer, Department of Budget and Management (DBM); Eugenio Pipo Jr., assistant secretary, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); Sitti Jehanne Mutin-Mapupuno, assistant secretary, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPPAP); Rasol Lampin Mitmug, commissioner, Civil Service Commission (CSC); Fenicar Tabao, senior state solicitor, Office of the Solicitor General; Rene Orbe, deputy director general, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA); Abdullah Mangotara, acting associate commissioner, Bureau of Immigration; Amihilda Sangcopan-Abdulhakim, acting deputy executive director, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF); Ruben Platon, acting president, Philippine Public Safety College; Victorino Manalo, executive director, National Archives of the Philippines, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA); Leslie Jeanne Cordero, vice chairman, Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB). President Aquino also administered the oath of office to the new officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) as well as Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). They were Roberto Garcia, chairman, board of directors (SBMA). Other SBMA board of directors were Benjamin Antonio III, Philip Camara, Ramon Sesdoyro, Norberto Sosa, Alfonso Siapno, Gerald Sam del Rosario, Wilfredo Pineda, Francis Garcia, Bienvenido Benitez, and John Philip Chua Chiaco. The members of the board of directors of BCDA who took their oath of office were Teresita Desierto, Zorayda Amelia Alonzo, Ma. Aurora Geotina Garcia, Ferdinand Golez, and Elmar Gomez. The President likewise swore in the newly promoted generals of the military that include Maj. Gen. Tristan Kison, commander, National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM); Maj. Gen. Pompeo Limbo, Philippine Army; Brig. Gen. Mario Mendoza, Philippine Army; Brig. Gen. Jesus Lomeda Jr., J6; Brig. Gen. Rene Pilapil, National Development Support Command (Nadescom), Comdr Antonio Mendoza, General Headquarters; Brig. Gen. Alexander Bote, Philippine Air Force (PAF); Brig. Gen. Charito Plaza, Philippine Air Force; and Brig Gen. Elihu Ybanez, Philippine Air Force. — RSJ, GMA News