Palace insists GMA appointees filled in two slots at SBMA

Malacanang insisted yesterday that President Arroyo’s two new appointees Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Board of Directors were made to fill in existing vacancies.

This was the contention of Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Avelino Cruz, head of the Palace "search committee" which screens and recommends presidential appointees on the questioned appointment of the two latest appointees of President Arroyo to the SBMA board of directors. The two new appointees to the 15-man SBMA Board were Jaime L. Mendoza and Ednalino P. Cajudo who were supposedly to take over, respectively, the posts of former SBMA board directors Constancia P. Macomb representing the Naval Supply Depot; and , Nicasio G. Leonzon Jr. representing the Public Works Center of the former American naval facility in Olongapo City, Zambales.

Claims to the contrary, Cruz argued, in a memorandum sent to Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, that the appointments of the two newest SBMA board members were valid and legal since there were vacancies to be filled. Cruz wrote this memorandum to Romulo in response to the letter, dated Feb. 6, sent to the Palace by SBMA chairman and administrator Felicito Payumo who sought the clarification of the executive secretary on the matter.

Payumo endorsed to the Palace the legal questions raised against the two latest presidential appointments to the SBMA board by Gaudencio Mendoza, one of the two SBMA Board of Directors who questioned the two latest appointees of the President as allegedly violating their fixed terms of office.

Mendoza, who retired last year as deputy executive secretary of Romulo, invoked Republic Act 7227, otherwise known as the Base Conversion and Development Act of 1992 which, among other things, created the SBMA as the Congress-created autonomous body running the Subic Bay Freeport.

Payumo informed the executive secretary that he has "held in abeyance" the assumption into office of Mendoza and Cajudo who already took their oaths of office before a judge in an Olongapo City court.

The actions taken by Payumo was questioned yesterday by Cajudo and Mendoza who separately sent their respective letter to The STAR to vehemently deny the claims of their being appointed to non-existing vacancies at the SBMA board.

Olongapo City Mayor Kate Gordon, interceding in behalf of the two newly appointed SBMA board directors, also called up The STAR yesterday saying her help was sought to air their sides on the issue and belie the claims of Payumo.

"I don’t know why Tong (Payumo) refused to let them in," Gordon said.

Mayor Gordon is the wife of Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon whom Payumo replaced as SBMA chief in February 1998 when then President Joseph Estrada removed him despite similarly invoking fixed term of office as provided for in RA 7227.

In their respective letters sent to The STAR yesterday, the two appointees of President Arroyo charged that Payumo defied directives of the Chief Executive for him to install them into office at the SBMA.