BY SAMMY JULIAN
Manila News Bureau Chief
MANILA – President Benigno Aquino III has decided to replace Grace Padaca as commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with one of the private prosecutors in the impeachment trial of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2013.
The President has signed the ad interim appointment of lawyer Arthur Lim.
Lim is a former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).
Aquino did not renew the appointment of Padaca after she failed to get the approval of the Commission on Appointments earlier this year.
The President was supposedly hesitant to retain the former Isabela governor amid concerns on her pending graft charges with the Sandiganbayan as well as her alleged failure to submit her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth in recent years.
Last year, the President also named Al Parreño, a private prosecutor in the Corona trial, to fill up the vacant seat in the Comelec.
Prior to his appointment, Parreño served as board member of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Two other prosecution lawyers in the Corona trial, Winston Ginez and Jose Justiniano, were appointed chairman of LTFRB and undersecretary of the Department of Justice, respectively./PN
