05/10/2011 | 07:10 PM
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri on Tuesday filed a resolution asking President Benigno Aquino III to refrain from appointing individuals who have pending cases in courts.
Senate Resolution 459 seeks to express the sense of the Senate for Aquino to refrain from appointing officials who have pending cases, particularly on graft and corruption before the Sandiganbayan and other courts.
"(The President) should appoint only individuals of proven competence, unsullied integrity and unquestionable honesty. Let this be a yardstick for those who apply for any government position," Zubiri said in a statement on Tuesday.
The senator said the President should use the investigative reports of various government agencies, especially the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman, in screening their potential appointees.
He likewise said that the Commission on Appointment should block the appointment of any Cabinet member who might have pending cases in courts.
“Let us also give opportunity to the many efficient and qualified career executives in different government agencies who are waiting in line for the opportunity to better serve our country," he said.
The one-year Constitutional ban on appointing defeated candidates in the previous elections will end on Wednesday, May 11.