Is the DILG arrangement legal?

Tuesday, 21 September 2010 00:00

Written by Tony La Viña

In an interview during the hostage crisis investigation, Interior Usec. Rico Puno admitted that he was designated to oversee police operations because the President, a long time friend, "trusts him;" a reality reinforced by the fact that Sec. Robredo was named in an acting capacity. Usec. Puno’s revelation brought to light a seemingly anomalous set-up between President Aquino and his DILG secretary which became a fodder for political analysts and legal experts and triggered calls for the resignation of Sec. Robredo and Usec. Puno. Can the President, through a DILG undersecretary, take over police matter and operations and bypass the DILG secretary?

The NAPOLCOM was constituted pursuant to Republic Act No. 6975, or the “Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990”. The law was subsequently amended by Republic Act No. 8551, or the “Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998”. According to Republic Act No. 8551, the NAPOLCOM shall exercise administrative control and operational supervision over the Philippine National Police, and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary acts as the ex-officio Chairman and Presiding Officer of the Commission, and as such has the power to delegate authority to exercise any substantive or administrative function to the members of the NAPOLCOM or other officers of rank within the DILG. More importantly, among the Commission’s main functions is to “advise the President on all matters involving police functions and administration.”

Reading all the pertinent constitutional and statutory provisions, in conjunction with jurisprudential rulings on executive control, it can be gleaned that the President can validly exercise his power of control over the NAPOLCOM as long as it is in accordance with the law; and the law states that it is the DILG Secretary who shall, among others, act as Chairman and Presiding Officer of the NAPOLCOM.

Accordingly, the administration and control of the police force are properly vested in the DILG Secretary in his capacity as ex-officio Chairman of the NAPOLCOM. It is the law itself that grants such authority to the DILG Secretary, and the President cannot unilaterally revoke this, notwithstanding the well-established principle that he has control and discretion over the heads of executive departments. It can be reasonably argued that, where the legislature has already lodged the power and function to a particular body or public officer, it is not for the executive to revoke, withhold, or alter such delegation. The President's power of control over department secretaries allows him to alter, modify, nullify or set aside what a subordinate officer had done in the performance of his duties and to substitute the judgment of the former for that of the latter. These duties, specifically those of the DILG Secretary as NAPOLCOM ex-officio Chairman, have been spelled out by Congress in the DILG Act of 1990 as amended by RA 8551. The power of control of the President does not seem to cover the delegation of functions laid down by statute for a specific public office (Office of the DILG Secretary) to another public office (i.e. DILG Undersecretary) not provided for in the relevant law.

Lately in an interesting turn around, Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma clarified that while the President oversaw the hostage-taking crisis through Usec. Puno, Interior Sec. Robredo is still the head of the DILG that oversees the PNP and its operations.

With the hostage incident report about to be released to the public, the President has an opportunity to correct this anomalous legal situati on. Will he be able to go beyond friendships to do this for the sake of his presidency and for the country?

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