04/02/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly [133] In Re: Valenzuela aptly stated: Section 15, Article VII has a broader scope than the Aytona ruling. It xxx contemplate[s] not only "midnight" appointments - those made obviously for partisan reasons as shown by their number and the time of their making - but also appointments presumed made for the purpose of influencing the outcome of the Presidential election. On the other hand, the exception in the same Section 15 of Article VII allowing appointments to be made during the period of the ban therein provided - is much narrower than that recognized in Aytona. The exception allows only the making of temporary appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies will prejudice public service or endanger public safety. Obviously, the article greatly restricts the appointing power of the President during the period of the ban. [134] The President is the country’s Chief Executive and administrative head of the Executive Department (See Ople v. Torres, stating: “Administrative power is concerned with the work of applying policies and enforcing orders as determined by proper governmental organs. It enables the President to fix a uniform standard of administrative efficiency and check the official conduct of his agents. To this end, he can issue administrative orders, rules and regulations.”). He is also the chief architect of the nation’s foreign policy and as the country’s sole representative with foreign nations (Pimentel v. Office of the Executive Secretary, G.R. No. 158088, July 6, 2005, 462 SCRA 628, 632; and Bayan v. Zamora, 396 Phil. 631, 663 [2000]). He is also the Commander-in-Chief of the country’s armed forces. He is also the protector of the peace (See Marcos v. Manglapus, supra note 71, at 504-505.) [135] With or without reference to the appointee. For instance, while the Constitution allows the President to make ad interim appointments, the Constitution nevertheless limits its effectivity “only until disapproved by the Commission on Appointments or until the next adjournment of the Congress” without reference to the appointee. With reference to the appointee, the President is prohibited from appointing his “spouse and relatives by consanguinity or affinity within the fourth civil degree” “as Members of the Constitutional Commissions, or the Office of the Ombudsman, or as Secretaries, Undersecretaries, chairmen or heads of bureaus or offices, including government-owned or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries. Section 15, Article VII itself is a limitation of the appointing power of the President that does not make any reference to the appointee. [136] By prescribing the minimum qualifications for office. [137] Sarmiento v. Mison, 240 Phil. 514, 526 (1987). [138] Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila v. Intermediate Appellate Court, 224 Phil. 178, 187 (1985); and Luego v. Civil Service Commission, 227 Phil. 305, 307 (1986). [139] See Espanol v. Civil Service Commission, G.R. No. 85479, March 3, 1992, 206 SCRA 716, 721, 723-724, citing Abila v. Civil Service Commission, et al., G.R. No. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/60717 72/75