No plan to tackle Petilla confirmation soon –Osmeña

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla will not be facing Congress members for his confirmation hearing anytime soon due to his supposed failure to address issues in the energy sector, Senator Sergio Osmeña III said Thursday.

At a press briefing, Osmeña, who chairs the energy committee in the Commission on Appointments (CA), said he is not keen on calling for Petilla's confirmation hearing because he is "totally unhappy" with the energy department's performance.

"Ang kailangan po nila talagang magiging proactive. You have to plan 5, 10, 15 years in advance. Wala ho silang plano. I already asked the President to change Secretary Petilla. Hindi naman, so more of the same. Kaya ganito na muna ako," the senator said.

Osmeña did not give a definite date for Petilla's confirmation hearing. He said he will start deliberations to confirm Petilla's appointment "when the time is right."

Last March, Osmeña publicly appealed to President Benigno Aquino III to fire Petilla, following a widespread power outage in Mindanao.

Osmeña had also described both Aquino and Petilla as "awful managers."

Aside from Petilla, three other Cabinet officials have yet to get the CA's nod: Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman and Environment Secretary Ramon Paje.

Soliman's confirmation was already approved by a CA committee on Wednesday. De Lima and Paje, however, are scheduled to answer more questions from CA members in separate hearings next week. —KBK, GMA News