Cabinet men, officers, envoys get CA approval

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Appointments, in a historic move Wednesday, approved en masse 102 nominations and ad interim appointments including five cabinet officials, two of whom are controversial personalities. The announcement came after a stormy plenary session which saw two senators - Ma. Ana Consuelo Jamby Madrigal and Panfilo Lacson - walking out of the discussion. Madrigal had walked out of the plenary session in protest to the composition of the CA which she said was unconstitutional while Lacson questioned the jurisdiction of the commission on the promotion of an air force colonel. Lacson succeeded in blocking the confirmation of Air Force Col. Arthur Abadilla, citing the the law on promotions in the military which bars promotion to the rank of brigadier general/commodore or higher with less than one year of active service remaining before compulsory retirement at age 56. Unable to stop the confirmation of government officials, Madrigal said she will bring the matter to the Supreme Court to nullify the action of the CA as she lashed out at Senate President Manny Villar for lack of leadership when he allegedly failed to act on her complaint about the CA composition. Among the cabinet members whose appointment were approved by the CA were Francisco Duque III as health secretary, Rolando Andaya Jr. as budget secretary, Margarito teves as finance secretary, Raul Gonzales as justice secretary, and Ronaldo Puno as DILG secretary. Of the Cabinet men, Gonzales and Puno are considered controversial appointees Gonzales for his controversial statements against Arroyo critics and Puno for his alleged involvement in the dagdag-bawas operation during elections. Apart from the five cabinet members, the CA also approved the appointment of Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Alexander Yano, two constitutional officials, eight ambassadors, 47 diplomats and 39 other military officials. Other government officials whose appointment were approved Reynaldo Villar as chairman of the Commission on Audit with a term expiring on Feb. 2, 2011; Jose Melo as chairman of the Commission on Elections with a term expiring on Feb. 2, 2015;Ambassadors Francisco Benedicto to India and Nepal; Noe Wong to Cambodia; Cristina Castaner Ponce-Enrile to the Vatican; Macarthur Corsino to Cuba and concurrently to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica; Wilfredo Cuyugan to Syria; Minda Calaguian Cruz to Singapore;Francisco Ortigas III to Mexico and concurrently to Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama; Antonio Manuel Lagdameo to Spain. The commission also disapproved the ad interim appointment of Jesus Anquilo to the grade of colonel in the Army as he had been convicted by the court. It was the biggest number of appointees confirmed by the CA in a single day. As she walked out in the middle of the plenary confirmation, Madrigal complained that her concerns remained unacted upon under the leadership of Senate President Manny Villar. But Villar remained unfazed by Madrigal's attacks, saying that all the confirmation of government officials were done legally adding he just did his job as Senate President as he just ignored the accusation of Madrigal that he acted like Pontius Pilate to avoid any blame and accountability on the CA issue. Villar's office later issued a statement saying that the Commission Appointments has confirmed the appointments of 332 officials. The press statement broke down the list of those confirmed and/or consented to by the CA as follows: 10 cabinet secretaries, a member of the Judicial and Bar Council, 256 senior officers of the defense department, 63 senior officers in the foreign service, and the respective chairmen of the Commission on Audit and the Commission on Elections. - GMANews.TV