Armed forces chief General Delfin Bangit should resign after the Commission on Appointments failed to confirm him, the spokesperson of presumptive President-elect Benigno Aquino said Saturday. Lawyer Edwin Lacierda said Bangit's interim appointment lapsed after the CA withheld its confirmation. He said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo could not reappointment Bangit because she was barred from doing so by the constitutional ban on presidential appointments. “By law, he can no longer hold office and should resign because he was not confirmed. General Bangit should resign,” Lacierda said in an interview. “We don't even have to say something about it. It is operative by law. He must resign.” Lacierda said with Article 7 Section 15 of the Constitution banning Ms. Arroyo from making appointments two months immediately before elections and until the end of her term, she could not renew Bangit's interim appointment. “The President cannot re-appointment him as chief of staff, as was her practice before with other appointments bypassed by the CA, because we are within the prohibited period,” Lacierda said. “This time around, the President cannot do that. She cannot remedy the situation. This is a legal no brainer. He cannot discharge his office,” Lacierda added.
