The Philippine Online Chronicles

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has appointed her former political adviser Gabriel Claudio to chair the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), amid issues surrounding his qualifications.

Claudio's appointment to the MWSS Board of Trustees on March 5 was among the flurry of appointments made by the president despite the 60-day election ban on presidential appointments.

Claudio replaced Oscar Garcia, who was relegated to board member and would stay on until October 22, 2014.

Despite over 30 years of government service, in Congress and in Malacañang, many still say Claudio is underqualified for the post.

Former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez cited Republic Act 6234 which requires “every MWSS board member to be duly licensed professional with competence in engineering, business management and finance, or in law and with at least 10 years' distinguished experience in his or her field of expertise.”

Armed only with a degree in Communication Arts from the Ateneo de Manila University, 55-year-old Claudio is not qualified for the job, Chavez said.

“Obviously, he's disqualified under the law, and any appointment of any disqualified person is void ab initio. Both the appointing power and the appointee can be held criminally liable,” he said.

Claudio, for his part, challenged anyone who questions his management abilities to “re-read his credentials.”

“I have been for so many years on the board of the highest public corporation – the Cabinet, presided over sensitive policy-making bodies, not to mention as secretary-general of the biggest political party.”

Presidential Spokesperson Ricardo Saludo, likewise came to Claudio's defense: “His decades in government have given him the executive, legal and governance expertise to head an agency providing essential public services.”

Apart from Claudio, Arroyo also appointed some new members into the MWSS board, apparently not based on their qualifications, but allegedly due to the close ties she shares with them.

Arroyo also appointed Ferdinand Mahusay, brother of errand boy Eugenio “Udong” Mahusay, who in 2003 claimed that his erstwhile boss, First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, signed a check as Jose Pidal, only to retract later on.

Another latest appointee, Albert Balingit, is the son of the late Pedro Balingit, a known bosom-buddy of the late former President Diosdado Macapagal. So close were the two that Arroyo considered the elder Balingit to be her “foster dad.”

Neither Mahusay nor Balingit are “licensed professionals,” according to MWSS insiders.

From March this year, Arroyo has made at least 15 appointments into executive positions – including her manicurist Anita Carpon, whom she placed into the Pag-IBIG Board of Trustees, and her gardener Armando Macapagal, who she made deputy of the Luneta Park Administration.