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Letter to the Editor Abante Tonite October 07, 2011 Dear Sir,
This refers to the article of Mr. Arnold Clavio published today entitled “OMG!!! OSG!!!” where he raised several issues quoted from an alleged open letter to the President written by an unidentified employee of the Office of the Solicitor General.
Please allow us to clarify the issues point by point.
First, with regard to the alleged “mishandling” of the SEC case, it must be stressed that the OSG simply agreed with the decision handed down by the Supreme Court in its interpretation of foreign capital. By doing so, the OSG has duly upheld the Constitution and the law and the best interest of the Republic and the Filipino People.
It must be emphasized that the OSG has sufficiently defended the Constitutionality of the Truth Commission before the Supreme Court and the theory and strategy in handling the case was fully discussed with the whole legal team of the Office of the President.
Contrary to the article, the Solicitor General did not hold a celebration for his first year anniversary in office which was on August 03, 2011. The alleged date of celebration, August 06, 2011, was in fact the final day of the OSG Sportsfest at the Rizal Coliseum which the Solicitor General attended himself.
It is utterly false to say that SolGen Cadiz has asked government lawyers to lie. In an instance where an OSG lawyer told a litigant, who was not even a client of the Office, that the pleading is already at the office of Solgen Cadiz, he asked the lawyer to simply tell the litigant that the pleading is still being finalized to proscribe the said individual litigant from personally following up with the Solicitor General himself.
The Civil Service Eligibility is among the primary requirements set by the Civil Service Commission enforced by all government agencies. The law dictates the merits that construe an employee’s “competence” and the OSG should not be faulted for implementing the rules and guidelines set by the CSC. In fact, all the non-eligibles were given a chance to pass the CSC examination when SolGen Cadiz extended without exception all their temporary appointments.
In the case of Fr. Larry Buban, he served as a prosecutor in Manila for five years and was with the OSG for one year before he was promoted as a State Solicitor II. All in all, Fr. Buban has been in the practice of law for six years, one year more than the required minimum.
Also, the contention that Solicitor General Cadiz favors Bicolanos is false and completely malicious. In totality, in his stint in the OSG, Solgen Cadiz has appointed two Bicolano lawyers and an admin head in the OSG which has a total manning complement at present of more than 600 people. All of the aforementioned appointees are highly qualified.
Solgen Cadiz never asked nor received a P200,000 “acceptance fee” for an expropriation case. This is an outright canard and a defamation. SolGen Cadiz would like to know where the allegation came from and from whom the money was asked. Otherwise, the integrity of the entire report of Mr. Clavio would be highly dubious and questionable.
The unfortunate break-in at the OSG building last July happened on Saturday night, July 02, 2011.
Solgen Cadiz came to work on a Sunday, July 03, 2011, accompanied by his security personnel. Apart from the failure of the agency to safeguard the OSG premises, the security agency in question did not pay wages of the security guards for a period of time and did not remit SSS premiums for more than two years. This prompted the OSG to call for an emergency purchase to find a replacement for the said agency. Thereafter, a bidding for a new security agency was held and a winning bidder will shortly be announced.
The allegation that the Solicitor General instructed the security guards to keep other employees from sharing the elevator with him is also false. In fact, Solgen Cadiz invites OSG employees to join him in the elevator whenever he sees them waiting for a ride.
It is also an outright falsity to say that Solgen Cadiz books no dissenting opinions. He welcomes such ideas. Although he is passionate and speaks with a full voice, he has never carried anger in his heart.
Finally, the sexual harassment case filed against a certain ASG was in no way retaliatory as it was made to appear in the article. It was an act taken upon by an OSG employee on her own accord and will be referred shortly to a disciplinary committee.
It is certainly hoped that this has cleared the issues raised in the article so that the public may be accorded with facts and not unfounded accusations. It would be best for journalists to be more responsible and first assess the veracity of the claims being made before making them public.
Thank you.
Very truly yours,
ATTY. JUDY A. LARDIZABAL
Executive Assistant
Source: Abante Tonite Click here to see OMG!!! OSG!!! article by Arnold Clavio |
