Cortez recalled

Despite his being a presidential appointee, Amado Cortez, consul general to San Francisco, California, will be recalled home after he was found to be physically unfit to discharge his functions, Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon said yesterday.

Siazon said Malacañang won’t have a say anymore on the decision because Cortez, 74, a former actor, has been suffering from tuberculosis.

Cortez earlier had taken a sick leave, but still failed to recover. Siazon said political appointees are not entitled to accumulated leave credits like career diplomats who have been in the service for many years. — Aurea Calica