Benipayo to be named sol-gen, Teehankee to OGCC

A former chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) may be appointed by President Arroyo as solicitor general in place of Simeon Marcelo, who was recently appointed as Ombudsman, Malacañang sources said over the weekend.

Alfredo Benipayo is on the "short list" of candidates recommended by a Palace committee and is reportedly Mrs. Arroyo’s choice even though the bicameral Commission on Appointments (CA) in the past refused to confirm his appointment as Comelec chairman.

Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said Justice Undersecretary Manuel Teehankee will reportedly switch places soon with Amado Valdes, chief of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC).

Mrs. Arroyo will announce the appointments in a few days, the sources said.

A veteran trial lawyer and a former regional trial court judge, Benipayo was appointed last year by the President to head the seven-member Comelec.

Benipayo’s appointment was, however, bypassed by the CA seven times.

His one-year stint there was also marred by quarrels with four Comelec commissioners, all appointees of deposed President Joseph Estrada, Mrs. Arroyo’s predecessor.

Both sides differed on how to modernize the country’s election system, among other issues.

Mrs. Arroyo twice tried and failed to mediate the row, even hosting separate dinners with both sides at Malacañang.

Finally, last June, she appointed then Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Benjamin Abalos to replace Benipayo and end the bickering there.

After leaving the Comelec, Benipayo was included in a "short list" of candidates to fill two Supreme Court vacancies but did not get the post.

If Benipayo is appointed solicitor general, he will join Marcelo in the prosecution of Estrada, on trial for plunder and other corruption charges.

Prosecutor accuse Estrada of receiving bribes from illegal gambling rackets when he was President and used the proceeds to purchase mansions for himself and his string of mistresses.

Estrada was ousted in January 2001 in military-backed massive protest when his impeachment trial ended in a farce. He was replaced by then vice president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Teehankee, meanwhile, once he has moved over to the OGCC, will help the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs in prosecuting over 500 companies accused of tax evasion.

The OGCC is principally in charge of legal cases involving government-owned and controlled corporations.