Solgen sued on EO 2 for verbal Solgen sued on EO 2 for verbal By Benjamin B. Pulta 09/03/2010

Solgen sued on EO 2 for verbal Solgen sued on EO 2 for verbal
By Benjamin B. Pulta
09/03/2010

A former prosecutor who was verbally told to quit her post in the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) without due process has petitioned the Supreme Court (SC) to rule on the validity of Executive Order (EO) 2 for unduly expanding the definition of midnight appointees as prohibited by the Constitution.

In a 54-page petition, government lawyer Cheloy Garafil asked the high tribunal to rule on the constitutionality of EO 2 which she said “violates the Constitution by expanding the definition/interpretation of what constitutes midnight appointment” and which affects the fate of hundreds of government workers. 

“EO 2 undermines civil service as an institution as it effectively deprives the very constitutional rights of government operations — the selfless and often underpaid workers in the civil service,” Garafil said, adding that “removal from government service, in the absence of any justifiable cause and due process, is wantonly illegal and plainly uncouth. It defies the well-established norms of justice, fair play, courtesy and profesionalism.”

A prosecutor with the Department of Justice (DoJ) for six years, Garafil had been appointed as state solicitor in the OSG on March 5 of this year, six days before the two-month deadline in the Constitution which prohibits the President from making appointments before an election.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100903hed5.html