Zubiri: Let Marcos name his officials
THE ad interim appointments of five officials named by President Duterte to three constitutional bodies have been bypassed by the Commission on Appointments (CA), which was forced to adjourn its scheduled meeting yesterday due to lack of quorum.
Up for confirmation during Wednesday’s CA session were Elections chairman Saidamen Pangarungan and commissioners George Garcia and Aimee Torrefranca-Neri, Civil Service Commission chairman Karlo Alexis Nograles, and Commission on Audit head Rizalina Justol.
The 18th Congress will adjourn sine die on June 3, which will effectively suspend the functions of the appointments body.
Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the CA’s Committee on Constitutional Commissions and Offices, was forced to adjourn the committee meeting since only eight out of the 24 members were present.
“With five members present in person and three members present online, the total members present is eight, the chair declares the absence of a quorum. There being no quorum, the meeting of the Committee on Constitutional Commissions and Offices is hereby adjourned,” Villar said.
The CA panel has twice delayed the confirmation of the five officials before yesterday’s meeting.
In effect, the non-confirmation of the five officials allows President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to name his personal appointees to the three offices.
Senate majority leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said: “We cannot please everybody. This is a political body. Unfortunately, walang nag-attend (no one) from the House of Representatives (attended the meeting), so, we will just wait for the new administration to appoint new individuals.
“We know there is a request from the new administration to give courtesy,” Zubiri added, pointing out that the incoming Marcos administration has expressed preference that the new president be allowed to choose his own appointees to vacant government offices.
“Why not leave that to the incoming president? He is outgoing. Why is he appointing his representatives that will last in their positions for three years, depriving the next president of the right of choosing his own representatives,” Zubiri said last week, quoting former senator Juan Ponce Enrile who had tried to block the confirmation of five diplomats and two CSC appointees in February 2016, the last months of the Aquino administration, so that the incoming president can have the chance to pick his own nominees.
Under the rules of the CA, bypassed officials can no longer be reappointed by the incumbent president.
President Duterte appointed the five officials before March 9, shortly before the effectivity of the 60-day election ban on appointments provided under the Constitution.
Pangarungan, Garcia, and Neri were appointed to the Comelec and Nograles to the CSC in March. On the other hand, Justol was named as the new COA head last February. Their terms of office, if they were confirmed, will expire in February 2029.
The appointments of the officials were made while Congress was on break for the election campaign period and the only way they could have been confirmed was if Duterte called for a special session of Congress, which he did not do.
Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon earlier said the bypassed officials can still be appointed by the incoming president. But if their appointments will be “rejected” by the CA, “they can no longer be reappointed since being rejected means they are not qualified to the post.”
Zubiri said that since the nominees will serve until February 2029, the incoming president will now have the chance to appoint his choice men “until even up to the last day of his term” since they will serve their posts even after his term of office.
In an interview after the CA meeting, Garcia said their term of office officially ended yesterday, June 1.
Garcia said the remaining Comelec commissioners will elect among themselves who will be the acting chairman until the new administration appoints a new one.
Pangarungan said accepted his non-confirmation with a heavy heart even as he expressed confidence he would have been confirmed if the CA committee had a quorum.
In a statement, Pangarungan said: “It is with a heavy heart that I accept such outcome. But I would like to restate my utmost respect to the actions of the CA.”
He said he believes that he would have gotten the CA nod if only the circumstances were different, mainly due to the Comelec’s performance in the recently concluded May 9 national and local elections.
Pangarungan noted how the last electoral exercise set the highest voter turnout in Philippine election history at 83.07 percent, the most peaceful election with only 27 election related incidents (ERI), a record-breaking speed of transmission of election results, and the fastest proclamation of winning candidates.
“Because of these, I believe that I would have been confirmed by the CA had there been a quorum,” he said.
Garcia said he has no regrets with the bypassing of his appointment because he was able to be a part of a historic electoral exercise despite his short stint with the poll body.
“No bad feelings. No regrets. So thankful to my Comelec family and the Filipino people for the opportunity. The sacrifices are worth it,” said Garcia in an interview.
Asked what his are plans with his term at the Comelec ending, Garcia laid down several options.
“I will pursue the electoral reforms that we started in a private capacity. The academe and private practice are also enticing,” he said. — With Gerard Naval
