Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has named her manicurist to the board of a major government agency, her spokesman said yesterday.
The appointment of Anita Carpon to the board of a body responsible for lending tens of millions of dollars for the housing needs of government employees has drawn sharp criticism.
Arroyo’s spokesman Gary Olivar defended Carpon’s new posting and confirmed her other job as the president’s stylist.
“Having a relationship of trust with the president should not count against someone,” Olivar said.
Carpon is a government employee and was named to the agency’s board to represent low-paid workers the fund is serving, he said.
“The president wants the poorer government employees represented in the board because they are the ones with the housing needs,” Olivar said.
Media reports say Carpon will receive a monthly salary of about 130,000 pesos (US$2,900), double that of the president herself.
Olivar would not confirm the figure.
The appointment was criticized by the camp of presidential candidate Benigno Aquino, who is leading in the polls ahead of a May 10 election.
Butch Abad, Aquino’s campaign manager, accused Arroyo of acting without regard for the public good.
“She further deepened the culture of political patronage in this country by putting people who are loyal to her in positions which are delicate, without any regard to the qualifications of these people,” Abad said.
He said this followed a recent rash of controversial Arroyo appointments in the judiciary and the top military ranks, less than three months before the end of her term.
“These appointments are meant to put people in positions of influence in the hopes that if she is out of power, she will still be able to exercise some degree of influence,” Abad said.
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