Previous Story
‘Baka’s temporary appointment violates law’
|
Posted on Jan 12 2009
Rep. Rosemond B. Santos has written Gov. Benigno Fitial stating that Gregory Baka’s tenure as acting Attorney General violates the law.
Baka has held the position of acting Attorney General since Sept. 27, 2008, when Matthew Gregory stepped down.
Santos was referring to the law that states appointments of positions that require the approval of the Senate, Senate and House, or members of senatorial districts must be submitted to the presiding officer within 30 days following the date the person was temporarily appointed.
“It has been more than 30 days since Mr. Baka’s temporary appointment as Acting Attorney General and such appointment has not been forwarded to the Legislature. As a result, Mr. Baka’s appointment is in violation of existing law,” Santos wrote.
Charles Reyes, press secretary for the governor’s office, said Baka is acting by default because he was the deputy Attorney General before Gregory’s resignation. If there had been no deputy to fill the position, then there would be a vacancy and someone would need to be nominated, Reyes said.
He added that he would have to check with the Office of the Attorney General, which has been very scrupulous in following the law with regards to Baka.
“That issue hasn’t been raised at all. We’ll have to take a look at it,” he said. [B][I](Kristi Eaton) [/I][/B]
