'MIDNIGHT APPOINTEES' ARE LOYAL ARROYO ALLIES
Alexander Martin Remollino

It was not just that outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo made so many “midnight appointments” in less than two weeks; her list of appointees, documents show, includes loyal former generals, a campaign contributor, a number of her political allies, and Malacañang spin doctors.

Last March, outgoing Arroyo beat the constitutional deadline for appointments to government positions during an election year and made some 250 appointments to government-owned and-controlled corporations (GOCCs), as well as to agencies attached to the Office of the President.

The Constitution prohibits the president from making appointments 60 days before the elections. This year's ban on appointments started last March 10.

Documents Newsbreak obtained from a government source it did not identify show that Arroyo's “midnight appointees” include a number whose appointments may be controversial or even scandalous, based on their backgrounds... READ FULL ARTICLE