Maceda’s appointment legal, says DFA

Ambassador Ernesto Maceda’s appointment as President Estrada’s personal spokesman for the impeachment trial is legal, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced yesterday.

The DFA made the clarification even as the opposition party Lakas-NUCD lambasted Maceda’s appointment as "a case of the politically discredited propping the politically dead."

Other oppositionists, however, said that Maceda’s appointment has something to do with the reported arrival of a team of US foreign policy advisers closely identified with US President-elect George W. Bush.

Reliable sources said the US team arrived recently to assess for themselves the present political situation and has reportedly consulted with opposition leaders, including former President Fidel Ramos, a West Point graduate and Korean War veteran.

Lakas-NUCD secretary general and Isabela Rep. Heherson Alvarez said in a statement that Maceda’s appointment "will not do the President any better and does not help bring about a peaceful, sober settlement of political disputes."

The Isabela lawmaker, a former senator, said that Maceda was appointed to the post only "to help offset the flak the Palace (has been) getting from all sectors."

In addition to his duties as presidential spokesman, Maceda will also stay put as ambassador to Washington for the transition from the outgoing Clinton administration to the new Bush administration.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Franklin Ebdalin said "there is no conflict" because Maceda assumed a position that was not mandated by the Civil Service Commission.

"It’s just an arrangement between him and the President. The prohibition in law is having two fixed items. Even if you’re an appointee, you can be given other responsibilities," Ebdalin explained.