Minuses of Putting Ex Soldier, Cop to Gov't Posts

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

The downsides of President Rodrigo Duterte appointing to civilian posts retired military and police officials: They looked dumb when asked about their functions.

Look how these retirees fared on the latest senate hearing on the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) that cause an uproar for the aborted prison released of rapist and murderer mayor Antonio Sanchez and other prisoners convicted with heinous crimes.

When Senator FrancisTolentino, a lawyer, asked Bureau of Correction Chief Nicanor Faeldon, a former Marine officer, about his knowledge on the “illegal release of prisoners before and after election” as provided by the Omnibus Election Code and Resolution 10429 of the Commission on Election, the Bucor Chief answered in the negative.

BELEAGUERED Bureau of Correction Director Nicanor Faeldon (left photo) and Bureau of Immigration & Deportation Commissioner Jaime Morente.  Faeldon used to be a Marine Captain while Morente, an alumnus of the Philippine Military Academy, was a retired police general.

“I don’t know about it,” he referred to the law that he did not understand that could make him criminally and administratively liable because he allowed to release in that period some convicts.

I could only shake my head.
 Reporters of provincial and national media outlets knew about this because they read it as either as an email sent to them or post at the Facebook by the Commission on Election during the election period of March 14 to June 12, 2019 of the May 13, 2019 election.

Faeldon should know this statute, despite being a non-lawyer, because it is part and parcel of the function of his office.
To avoid being a laughing stock by the the masses, Duterte should have not appointed a soldier in that office susmariosep. He should appoint a lawyer instead who knows the nuances of the law.

Here’s another blunder on that hearing.

When Senator Richard Gordon, a lawyer too, asked Bureau of Immigration & Deportation (BID) Commissioner Jaime H. Morente, PMA 1981 and a retired police general, in case those Chinese Drug Lords locked at the slammer of the BID for deportation processing can still be collared in case they went home to China?

“Do we have an extradition treaty with China?” Gordon, chairman of the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee, asked Morante.

Morante just stared at him blankly.

Sus, knowing whose countries we have an extradition treaty is basic for a commissioner to learn because that was part of his job description.  But Morante already failed big time about it before the national television.

Thanks to Justice Secretary Menardo Guevara, the immediate superior of Morante, who came to the succor of the BID Chief who did not know what hit him.

Guevara told Gordon that the Philippines and China have extradition treaty.

To those who read this column and still did not have any iota of knowledge what does extradition treaty means: It is the transfer of an accused from one state or country to another state or country that seeks to place the accused on trial (The Free Dictionary).

The only general who knows the law, thanks to his diligence or probably he studied law when he was in the service, was Senator Ping Lacson.

He posed his queries by even citing some Latin terminologies and law principles like “if the law does not distinguish don’t distinguish”, and “if the IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations) conflicts with the national law, the latter prevail, of course he he.

READ MY OTHER ARTICLE:

Filipino Cadets Bare Sad Plights at West Point

(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)