Miriam backs off; CA OKs appointment of Mar as DILG chief

By KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA News

Published September 19, 2012 1:27pm

(Updated 2:05 p.m.) The Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday approved the appointment of Mar Roxas as secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) after Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago withdrew her motion to block his nomination. Roxas replaced Jesse Robredo, who died in a plane crash in Masbate on August 18. Roxas' former post — that of Transportation chief — has been given to Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya. The bicameral body also confirmed Abaya's nomination as DOTC chief. Aside from Roxas and Abaya, the CA also approved the appointment and ad interim appointments of 106 senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

During the plenary session, Santiago made a motion to block the confirmation of the nomination of Roxas.

"I hereby invoke Section 20 and move for the suspension of the consideration of the nomination of the nominee," she said.

Santiago had vowed to block the confirmation of Cabinet members who snubbed the hearing she initiated against resigned Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno last Friday.

The Cabinet officials who were invited to the hearing but did not show up include Roxas, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Environment Sec. Ramon Paje and Justice Sec. Leila de Lima. Both Paje and De Lima have yet to be confirmed by the bicameral body.

"As collateral damage I had to take counter action by announcing that as a member of the Commission on Appointments, I will exercise my power of one-person veto over all the Cabinet members that I summoned but did not appear. Unfortunately, first in the list is Sec. Mar Roxas of the DILG, followed by Sec. Leila de Lima and Sec. Ramon Paje of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources," she said. Miriam reconsiders motion

After Santiago made the motion, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III asked for a five-minute suspension of the session. Roxas then approached Santiago.

After session resumed, Sotto then made an appeal to Santiago.

"I would like to the graciousness of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, may I ask that the invocation of Section 20 be withdrawn?" he said.

Santiago then said she reconsidered the matter and withdrew the motion to suspend consideration of Roxas' nomination.

In an interview with reporters after the session, Santiago said she didn't really want to block the appointment of Roxas.

"Si Sen. Roxas talagang mabigat ang loob ko doon. Una, malapit kami sa isa't-isa, even his wife is close to me so he does not deserve that kind of treatment. I really didn't want him to become collateral damage in my ongoing battle with Malacañang," she said.

"I just wanted to to prove the principle that Malacañang under the Constitution has no power to block an inquiry in aid of legislation just by ordering the Cabinet secretaries not to attend," she added.

Santiago, however, said she has yet to decide whether she will do the same to Paje and De Lima. — RSJ, GMA News

Tags: miriamdefensorsantiago, marroxas, commissiononappointments, dilg