Oh, to be the President's manicurist...

international headlines

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently appointed her personal manicurist and stylist Anita Carpon to the board of the Pag-IBIG Housing Fund. I have nothing against manicurists--I have many fond memories hanging around my auntie Poying's beauty salon--but this is just odd.

I'm all for having ordinary people represented in government agencies, but being "officer-in-charge of Madame President's ingrown toenails and cuticles" is not enough qualification for this job.

The president also tapped her gardener Armando Macapagal as deputy of the Luneta Park Administration, without any administrative experience. Goodness, nothing screams "banana republic" more than these examples of blatant political patronage.

from AFP:

MANILA — Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has named her manicurist to the board of a major government agency, her spokesman said Thursday. 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... Local media reports say Carpon will receive a monthly salary of about 130,000 pesos (about 2,900 dollars), double that of the president herself. 

Update: Anita Carpon declines appointment. Good for her.

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