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The throng of presidential appointees that will jam
today’s plenary session of the Commission on Appointments shows
the need to review Section 20 of the CA rules. The number of those
to be confirmed is so big that Senate President Manuel Villar, the
CA ex-officio chairman, directed that no committee hearings be held
today so everybody would be confirmed.
This mass confirmation is totally
unprecedented. Before, an appointee got confirmed on the Wednesday
nearest to the day he was endorsed by a CA committee. This is no
longer so. For instance, Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd was
endorsed for confirmation way back on March 12 but he will be
confirmed only today. Among those joining him are Budget Secretary
Rolando Andaya Jr., Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, Justice
Secretary Raul Gonzalez and Gen. Alexander Yano, the Armed Forces
chief of staff.
This mass confirmation became
inevitable when Sen. Jamby Madrigal made a mass invocation of
Section 20 rules on March 12. She threatened to do so again on all
upcoming appointees recommended for confirmation by the various CA
committees, thus freezing all confirmation proceedings.
Section 20 is a power granted to
CA members that automatically defers the consideration of an
appointment by the plenary once invoked. It is non-debatable. A CA
member may invoke it because he did not like the way a nominee
parted his hair, and nobody could stop him. In the case of Madrigal,
she obviously invoked it en masse in retaliation for the
confirmation of Brig. Gen. Nestor Sadiarin whom she had opposed.
This power, however, could not be invoked on the last session day.
Today is the last session day of the First Regular Session, thus the
throng of appointees at the CA plenary.
This section used to be invoked
against individual appointees. Nobody had ever expected this power
to become an “unguided missile” in the hands of a CA member like
Madrigal. Now that the dangers it has wrought have become crystal
clear, it is high time that it be given a second look. The CA is
supposed to inquire into the credentials and moral fitness of an
appointee. Once these are determined in favor of an appointee, he is
recommended for confirmation. However, these findings are completely
negated by Section 20 which can be invoked out of whim, caprice or
moment of pique.
Ping’s warning
“This will not be the last time
you will see mass confirmation on the last session day!” Sen. Ping
Lacson said.
He said that nobody will be
confirmed until the last session day “unless the CA follows its
rules.” He is referring to the decision of the CA Committee on
National Defense headed by Rep. Rodolfo Albano 3rd of Isabela to
recommend the promotion to brigadier general of Col. Arthur Abadilla
of the Philippine Air Force.
He said that Malacañang did not
even issue Abadilla a new nomination after he was bypassed last
December. Ping said this indicated Malacañang’s belief that
Abadilla had been disqualified from promotion because he had less
than one year of service left.
“The CA lost its jurisdiction
over Abadilla after December and yet the CA Committee on Defense is
recommending his promotion,” he said.
He warned that if Abadilla’s
name is read in today’s plenary session, another mass confirmation
will be conducted on the last session day of the Second Regular
Session.
Incidentally, it was the CA
Committee on Justice headed by Ping that recommended the
confirmation of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez. Gonzalez had been
waiting for his confirmation since 2004 when he was appointed to the
post.
The biggest surprise was not
Gonzalez’s endorsement but the manifestation of Sen. Jinggoy
Estrada that he would not object to Gonzalez’s confirmation.
Estrada had previously been very critical of Gonzalez, whom he
accused of persecuting the Estrada family and members of the
opposition.
“I appeal to all members to
allow Secretary Gonzalez to spend the rest of his life in public
service,” Jinggoy said
“Wait a minute! That sounds
like a eulogy!” Sen. Dick Gordon remarked.
Gonzales had just undergone a
kidney transplant operation.
Short notes
· I am sick and tired of hearing
“Epira law,” especially from lawmakers who should know better.
When they say “Epira law,” they are in effect saying “Electric
Power Industry Reform Act law.”
· Reader Joey Legarda emailed
his reaction to my previous column “Ja…Ja…Ja…Ja…Jamby.”
I cannot reproduce his entire e-mail because it might get the two of
us—and The Manila Times—in trouble. However, here is an excerpt
that I consider more tame: “The Jamby [deleted] only proves that
even democracy has its anomalies.”
Joey Legarda also said something
about Jamby’s supposed movie, “Mana Po!” but I’d rather not
retell it.
efrendanao2003@yahoo.com
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