THE Commission on Appointments yesterday approved the appointments of seven ambassadors and 86 generals and senior officers of the Armed Forces, including former Transportation Secretary Arthur “Art” Tugade to the rank of colonel in the Air Force as a reserve officer.
Henry Bensurto was confirmed as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Turkiye with concurrent jurisdiction over Georgia and the Republic of Azerbaijan while Raul Hernandez was confirmed as ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman.
Carlos Sorreta was confirmed as the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and Paul Raymund Cortes as ambassador to the Portuguese Republic with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Cabo Verde, the Republic of Guinea-Bissaua, the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, and the Republic of Angola.
Renato Villa was confirmed as ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Yemen, Josel Ignacio as ambassador to the Republic of India with concurrent jurisdiction over the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, and Maria Angela Ponce as ambassador to Malaysia.
Next to be confirmed were 86 officers of the Armed Forces, including Tugade, 77.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri thanked his colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives who are members of the CA for confirming the appointments.
Zubiri said the CA, during the 1st Regular Session of the 19th Congress, was able to confirm the appointments of 597 nominations and appointments.
“Of this number, 20 are Cabinet secretaries, 452 are officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 119 are officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs, one is from the JBC (Judicial and Bar Council), and five are from the Constitutional Commissions,” Zubiri said.
He said that in the same period last year during the 18th Congress, the CA confirmed a total of 328 nominations and appointments, while 218 were confirmed during the 17th Congress.
“With your hard work, the scheduled sessions here in the Senate are always affected,” Zubiri said in jest. “Again, thank you very much that we performed our jobs well in scrutinizing the appointees and nominees.”
During the deliberations, Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros asked Bensurto what steps can the government do to ensure a wider recognition with regard to the country’s victory on the West Philippine Sea issue.
Bensurto said the overall situation in the West Philippine Sea has changed over the years since the disputed area has been limited to around 13,000 square kilometers, unlike before when 500,000 square kilometers of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and another 500,000 square kilometers of the continental shelf were in the agenda.
“What that means, therefore, is that it clarified the exclusive economic zone of the little countries. By that, I am referring to the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and Vietnam,” Bensurto said.
“That being affirmed, the freedom of navigation is also affirmed. And therefore, what we have to tell the world is the wide-range, far-reaching implications of the South China Sea, that it is more than a bilateral issue between the Philippines and China,” he added.
