Legal but not right?

“IT’S not legally prohibited,” lawyer Rona Ann V. Caritos, executive director of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente), says of the appointment of campaign donors to government posts. “But all these things that are not prohibited in law do not necessarily mean that they are right.”

Section 4 titled “Norms of Conduct of Public Officials and Employees” of Republic Act No. 6713 does say that every public official and employee shall observe professionalism, among others. This means they “shall endeavor to discourage wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers of undue patronage.”

But CSC’s Ronquillo–who also heads the Commission’s Office for Legal Affairs–says the President, being the appointing authority of his people, enjoys the widest latitude of discretion to appoint whoever he wants to positions. The appointments are actually subject to the President’s trust and confidence, he says. These people are confidential appointees — co-terminus with the chief executive — so it’s only natural for the president to choose people whom he trusts, Ronquillo says.

“You will not appoint people you do not know,” he says. “You will appoint those you’re comfortable with because these are the people who will help you deliver the promises that you made during the campaign–to deliver the services that you want to deliver to the people.”

Ronquillo says that Duterte was not in violation of the law when he appointed his donors. The law, he says, will now apply to those the President appointed. In the course of discharging their functions, says Ronquillo, appointees cannot favor only members of their party or a certain group of people who happens to be close to them or to the president.

“When you’re in public office, your boss is the Filipino people so you shouldn’t be favoring anyone,” he says. “Doon papasok ngayon na ‘they shall endeavor to discourage wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers of undue patronage.’”

Caritos, however, frets that when it comes to appointments, those who contributed to the victor’s campaign tend to be given priority over others. This is why, she says, Lente always highlights in their voter education activities that people should know who the donors are. It’s human nature, Caritos says; especially among Filipinos where the concept of utang na loob endures, it’s not unusual to expect someone to give something in return to a person who gave him something.

And yet there are the likes of Sen. Alan Peter S. Cayetano and former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis N. Tolentino, both of whom donated substantial amounts to Duterte but hold no appointed position at present. Cayetano’s and Tolentino’s donations were in the form of tandem advertisements worth P71.3 million and P3.15 million, respectively. Cayetano was Duterte’s running mate; he has since become a perennial presence in events attended by the President, including those abroad. He was said to be eyeing the top post at the Department of Justice, but this went to Duterte’s former law school classmate Vitaliano Aguirre II.

Caritos has a different bone to pick with Cayetano and Tolentino, however. She says that while no law is violated by elected and former officials donating to campaigns, there is a need to highlight the fact that they hold or held positions in which salaries would not go over half a million pesos per month.

Asks Caritos: “How can these individuals give those inordinate amounts to their fellow party members? Even if it’s not breaking any law, where did you get the money to be able to donate that much?” (Karol Ilagan and Malou Mangahas with research by Floreen Simon, Fern Felix, Vino Lucero, Davinci Maru, Ana Isabel Manalang, Steffi Sanchez, Jil Caro, and John Gabriel Agcaoili, PCIJ)