Rep. Rodante Marcoleta has not been appointed the new justice secretary, contrary to a claim spreading on Facebook.
Facebook page UniTeam BBM-Sara posted the false claim on May 15:
WELL DESERVED. CONGRATULATIONS to our newly appointed Department of Justice Secretary Atty. Rodante Marcoleta. Di rin pala nasayang ang votes namin syo (Our votes were not wasted).
Although a list of possible candidates for presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos’ Cabinet circulating on Facebook includes Marcoleta as justice secretary, Marcos hasn’t officially disclosed his choice.
He has to date only announced that he would name his running mate Sara Duterte education secretary and his campaign manager, Benjamin Abalos Jr., as interior secretary.
But Marcos cannot appoint anyone to public office yet as he is still not the country’s president. He has not been formally proclaimed by Congress as president and, more important, taken his oath as president.
The Constitution provides that the president's term shall begin at noon of June 30 next following the day of the election after taking his oath of office.
Congress is scheduled to reconvene on May 23 and expected to start canvassing the votes for president and vice president soon after.
Under Article VII Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution, only the President may appoint heads of the executive departments, subject to the confirmation of the Commission on Appointments.
Marcoleta, infamous for leading the rejection of the ABS-CBN franchise renewal in the House of Representatives, was part of the UniTeam senatorial slate of Marcos. He, however, withdrew his candidacy on April 27, less than two weeks before the national election.
Commission on Elections Commissioner George Garcia has said the one-year ban on appointments in government positions applies only to candidates who participated in the elections. Because he withdrew his candidacy, Marcoleta can be appointed to a government post during the new administration’s first year in office
UniTeam BBM-Sara’s post generated over 1,200 reactions, 172 comments and 59 shares. A similar post on the same day by Facebook page BBM SARA 2022 Solid North has reached more than 5,200 reactions, 900 comments and 331 shares. (PA)