Senate may go beyond mandate in Puno probe

 

By Macon Ramos-Araneta | Posted on September 13, 2012 | 12:01am

 

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile warned his colleagues Wednesday that they could be overstepping their authority in conducting a hearing to evaluate the performance of resigned Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno.
“We might be treading in the domain of the presidency since the Executive department is under the President,” Enrile said, referring to a hearing called by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, who promised to rake Puno over the coals over allegations of irregularities in several gun contracts that he approved.
Puno, a close associate and shooting buddy of President Benigno Aquino III, resigned Tuesday in the wake of several controversies, including accusations that he tried to break into the condominium unit of the late Secretary Jesse Robredo to take documents related to an investigation of gun deals Puno had approved.
The President later said Puno was acting on his orders.
Enrile on Wednesday said the President had control and supervision over all the departments, and the Senate committee on rules should study if any committee may call a hearing to evaluate an Executive office.
Enrile also said the President had the right to appoint Puno to another position.
“The entire bureaucracy is subject to his supervision and control. Don’t the people understand that? He can assign any job to anybody, move people around in the government service except for those covered by security of tenure,” he said.
Without naming names, Enrile also said people who were attacking the President through Puno were cowards.
He added that he did not think Puno had committed any crime.
Puno quit three days before he was scheduled to appear before Santiago’s committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes and laws.
Santiago said the probe would look into the extensive power that the President granted Puno, including exclusive control over the Philippine National Police, which she said was contrary to the Administrative Code.
But Enrile said Executive department assignments were wholly at the discretion of the President.
“That’s the problem of the President. Why interfere in the delineation of powers of the secretary and undersecretary? That’s the prerogative of the President as Chief Executive Officer of the land,” he said.
In a press forum earlier this week, Enrile said there was nothing irregular in Puno’s attempt to secure the papers of Robredo, who died in a plane crash on Aug. 18. (END)