Malacanang today called on the public to give the new appointees to Cabinet and other high-ranking government positions a chance to prove their sincerity, competence, capability and commitment to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s 10-point program.

In a media briefing in Malacanang this afternoon, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said that a major consideration in the selection of the new appointees was to ensure that the Cabinet works as a team, adding that the success of her 10-point program would depend on close coordination and teamwork among the major players.

Himself one of those appointed to a new position, that of Press Secretary, Bunye pointed out that all the new appointees underwent thorough screening by a search committee, which has been helping the President choose the right people for the right positions.

Pointing out that a Cabinet post is a position of trust and confidence, Bunye said that it was only natural that the President would appoint someone who enjoys her confidence.

Responding to a newsman’s observation that some of the appointments were "political accommodation," Bunye stressed that the criteria used by the President in selecting her new appointees were competence and commitment to the core reforms she has set out to accomplish during the six years of her new mandate.

If the new appointees have any political background, "that is only incidental," Bunye said.

He added that in appointing chief presidential legal counsel Avelino Cruz as secretary of national defense, the President decided that this time the position should be held by someone coming from the civilian sector.