Palace: Give Mendoza a chance

Give him a chance.

This was the appeal of acting Press Secretary Silvestre Afable yesterday as he tried to fend off criticism of the recent appointment by President Arroyo of outgoing Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Leandro Mendoza as transportation and communications secretary.

"They should give the benefit of the doubt to Secretary Mendoza," Afable said. "We would like also to say that the President has the authority and responsibility of choosing and in the end she is the one responsible for the performance of her Cabinet members."

He said Mrs. Arroyo must be given a chance to select people of her choice as member of her official family.

"They (Cabinet members) are being preempted. We better look at them as the personal choice of the President," Afable said.

He added that Mendoza has already taken the initiative to inform the public of how he plans to rebuild the image of the DOTC.

Meanwhile, Palace officials stressed that Malacañang is not making any effort to persuade Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Heherson Alvarez to similarly resign after failing to get the nod of the CA.

Afable said Mendoza is expected to assume his post by the end of the month after he has wrapped up pending matters at the PNP.

He made the remark as a top official of the congressional Commission on Appointments (CA) strongly criticized Mendoza’s appointment and urged Mrs. Arroyo to recall the appointment.

Rep. Aniceto Saludo (Lakas-NUCD, Southern Leyte), deputy chief of the House delegation to the CA, said Mendoza was unqualified to hold such a "critical" Cabinet position.

"It’s the worst choice ever to be made by Malacañang," Saludo said in a statement even as he expressed doubt that Mendoza would hurdle CA scrutiny.

"The choice of Mendoza is ill-advised, uninspired and does not speak well of the President’s search committee," Saludo added. "Mahihirapan lumusot si Mendoza sa CA (Mendoza will find it hard to pass the CA)."

"Malacañang is better off recalling Mendoza’s appointment and for the presidential search committee to scout around some more for the most suitable, best possible appointee for a very sensitive and crucial position as secretary of transportation and communications," Saludo said.

"Mendoza is the wrong man for such a critical job. he has nothing to show in terms of credentials, training and experience as far as aviation, telecommunications, information technology, shipping, etc. are concerned," he said.

Even former DOTC Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez Jr., who resigned on June 11 after failing to get CA confirmation, was more qualified than Mendoza, Saludo said.

"In fairness, Alvarez had a strong background and experience in transportation and the telecommunications sectors," he said.

He noted that Alvarez had served as assistant general manager of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and was knowledgeable in crafting legislation for the transportation and communications industries.

Aside from his "abject lack of technical and professional expertise in technology and telecommunications," Mendoza’s appointment will also be a "great disadvantage" to the image of the Arroyo administration.

He said the Palace would likely be embarrassed by the credentials that Mendoza would submit to the CA because of the peace and order situation in the country.

The telecommmunications sector consumer group TXTPower also criticized Mendoza’s appointment and described it as "bad news" for the public.

"General Mendoza does not merit an appointment to such a position. There are many competent engineers and other professionals who are fit for the position of DOTC secretary," said TXTPower spokesman Anthony Ian Cruz.

Cruz said a former police chief has no business overseeing transportation and communications in the country and that only military dictatorships or civilian government beholden to the police or military would appoint a security official to a strictly civilian position.

Cruz also expressed fear that Mendoza’s appointment may also lead to violations of the privacy of civilians and would "allow the government to spy on real or imagined critics of the Arroyo administration."

"It is not a secret that the military and police have long wanted to institute surveillance and spy measures against government critics, whether real or imagined," he said.

"Security and privacy of communication will be compromised, not protected, by Mendoza’s appointment," Cruz said. - With Romel Bagares