Maya’s hanging on

Embattled acting Attorney General Maya B. Kara yesterday shrugged off the latest attempt by the Senate to oust her, standing firm in her previous resolve not to step down from the post despite growing political pressure.

She also welcomed the move by senators to bring the months-long tiff to the Supreme Court, saying she is confident that it will come up with the “right” decision.

“I would very much like to have this matter be resolved once and for all. I’m happy that we have (to) expedite procedure (in) the Supreme Court which will have an answer once and for all,” Kara told reporters.

When asked if she would resign, Kara said she “will remain in the office until either the governor or the Supreme Court tells me to go,” adding the Senate action will have no effect in her decision to stay.

“I don’t think it is good for the commonwealth as a whole… the governor specifically to have this kind of ongoing controversy,” she said.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio, who is attending official functions in Washington D.C., could not be reached for comment, but in previous statements to the media he has shown a wavering in his support for his AG choice.

Members of the upper house agreed on Wednesday to obtain a court ruling on whether the governor’s appointee to the Attorney General’s Office is lawfully occupying the position in acting capacity when the 30-day limit set forth in the Constitution has already elapsed.

They also want to clarify the appointment power given to the governor and the Senate authority to confirm or reject any government nominee.

Noting that there may be circumvention of the statute when Tenorio has opted to designate Kara as acting AG for the last eight months, senators are hoping to plot her ouster through a court ruling after their previous attempts failed.

The chief government lawyer, who attended a public hearing at the Senate yesterday, declined to comment on the merit of the lawsuit which the upper house expects to file in the next few weeks. .

Kara maintained AGO “disagrees obviously” with the Senate position and the office will respond to the charges if and when it files papers with the court.

“I am not going to try this case in the (newspaper). I am not interested in doing that,” she said. “I have full confidence in the Supreme Court to come up with the right decision. We will all live with it.”

After the hearing, the acting AG met personally with Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez who sponsored the resolution that set out the legal avenue to force her out of office.

A former House legal counsel for more than eight years, Kara was appointed to the AG last July, but her nomination to the Senate was abruptly withdrawn when it was clear she wouldn’t get the votes.

She has since held the position in acting capacity to the dismay of the Senate which has opposed Kara largely due to allegations of conflict of interests and controversial AG decisions.