DOES GMA STILL HAVE CONFIDENCE IN SEC. PUNO?

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today asked whether Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno still enjoys the confidence of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo amid the brouhaha over the designation of an officer-in-charge in his department while he is on a two-week leave of absence.

Pimentel said Malacañang should explain to the public why the President designated Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane as OIC of the Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary, and not any of career or non-career undersecretaries in the department, as prescribed by existing rules and procedures under the Revised Administrative Code.

"This brings up the question of whether the President still trusts Secretary Puno. Why did the President disregard the basic rule that the most senior undersecretary should take over the supervision of he department when the secretary is on leave?" he said.

Reports said that Puno had recommended that Undersecretary Mario Corpus be designated as acting secretary while he was away.

Pimentel, who once served as DILG secretary, explained that the law provides that an undersecretary should temporarily take the place of the secretary when the latter is on leave to ensure continuity in the day-to-day operations and implementation of the programs of the department.

He said there is more than meets the eye behind this turn of events, noting the conflicting explanations of Malacañang and the DILG about the reasons for Puno's leave of absence.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Puno would undergo medical treatment in the United States for an ailment. But this was corrected by DILG Assistant Secretary and spokesman Brian Yamsuan, who said that Puno flew to the US to attend the wedding of his son.

Whatever are the reasons for Puno's leave of absence and the designation of Ebdane as his temporary replacement, Pimentel said the actuations of the Palace betrays the administration's lack of transparency and the state of paranoia that has engulfed the seat of power where the loyalty of even close subordinates of the President is constantly under check.