Appointments ban to start Sept. 25

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino may not name the new heads of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority until the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on Oct. 25, Malacañang said yesterday.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa said the appointments ban will start on Sept. 25 and end on the day of the barangay and SK elections.

Mr. Aquino cannot appoint heads of government-owned and controlled corporations and government financing institutions during the one-month ban, he added.

However, De Mesa said the ban does not cover GOCC officials elected by their board of directors.

“These other (GOCC) officials will not be covered, if they are elected to the board by the stockholders,” he said.

“It is because they are elected, not appointed. But yes, (Mr. Aquino) cannot appoint an individual to any government office.”

De Mesa said the transfer of public school teachers is also prohibited one month before the barangay and SK elections.

However, the government can easily ask for an exemption from the Commission on Elections, especially “if it is necessary,” he added.

The President reassured businessmen that most of the vacant positions in government had been filled.

During a meeting in Malacañang, he asked them to give him more time to pick the right, competent people.

“Key positions in government have been filled,” he said. “There is really an urgency to fill up all of the positions.”

Mr. Aquino said applicants are often criticized before and upon assuming office.

“So the issue is we’re trying our best,” he said.

“We are having a lot of successes but getting the right people to all of these jobs is obviously not that easy given that there are very, very few perks and benefits that we can give to them.”

He still had to fill some 4,300 more government positions, Mr. Aquino said.

Mr. Aquino said he almost made a mistake in appointing somebody to a key law enforcement position.

“To be honest with you, I’m fortunate to have a rethink of this particular individual because daily, I keep getting reports that this individual does not have such a stellar record and, in fact, he’s the complete opposite of what we would want to achieve,” he said.

“So you get the people who are competent, trustworthy to do the job, but at the same time, we have to be wary of people who self-promote.”