PRESIDENT Duterte yesterday declared as vacant all appointive positions in the government, as he acknowledged that more than 50 days into his assumption of office, there is still corruption.
“You know my mouth is, as they say, lousy. But I would like to issue a warning that on Monday, I would declare all positions in the government that were presidential appointments or if you are there because of the presidential appointments, I will declare all your positions all throughout the country vacant,” Mr. Duterte said on Sunday.
He added that the directive includes all presidential appointees made by him and by his predecessor, former President Benigno S. Aquino III.
Mr. Duterte justified his decision to rescind all political appointments, including those he made during his term.
“You know why? Until now, in my provincial visits, I still hear corruption being committed by people, especially in the regulatory agencies,” he said.
He added that the declaration of all appointive posts vacant is based on the appointing authority’s loss of trust in the respective occupant’s capability to discharge the functions of the office.
It is not clear, however, whether the positions as high up as department heads and the occupants of which he had affirmed as being of the highest integrity would be considered as vacant as of Monday.
He singled out the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) as corrupt agencies.
“I would like to point out one, the LFTRB, I forgot his name, to come to me and see me in Malacañang,” he said, apparently referring to LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III.
“The LTO and those who are appointed to the LTO except the career, consider your positions vacant as of this hour. All of them. It will number in thousands, consider yourself in the crucible of the truth about corruption in this country,” he added.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador B. Panelo said the directive of President Duterte to declare all appointive positions vacant may also apply to the appointments he made and even to those positions as high up as department secretaries.
But Panelo clarified that all Cabinet secretaries have acknowledged that they all serve at the pleasure of the President.
“Even if [the directive] becomes general, even if it refers to the previous appointments or to the present ones, there’s still no problem because that’s the right of the President. All presidential appointees serve at his pleasure,” Panelo said.
Panelo added that there might be some appointees who might not have been vetted properly and were appointed by Mr. Duterte, and the declaration of the vacancy of all appointive positions would require them to secure reappointment papers.
“I think so,” Panelo said, when asked whether the occupants of those positions declared as vacant would need to be reappointed. “Perhaps there were appointees who were not screened properly, then there are reports that those appointees should not have been appointed.”
Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar said the new appointees to Cabinet positions are not included in Mr. Duterte’s directive to declare all appointive positions vacant.
Andanar added that the government bureaucracy will still function even if all the appointive positions are declared vacant, since there is a system wherein an officer in charge of a government office can discharge its functions even in the absence of a formal appointment from the President.
Mr. Duterte said in a press conference on Sunday that the appointive positions that will be vacated may be filled temporarily by deputies and their assistants.