COA's Cordoba, DMW's Ople get CA nod

The Commission on Appointments (CA) on Tuesday confirmed the ad interim appointments of Commission on Audit chairman Gamaliel Cordoba and Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople.

Cordoba will sit as chairman of  the state audit agency until February 2, 2029.

Senator Cynthia Villar, sponsor of Cordoba's appointment as chairperson of the CA committee on constitutional commissions and offices, vouched for the latter's honesty and diligence.

"Chairperson Cordoba's legal acumen and auditing skills make him best qualified to lead the Commission on Audit. His competencies are key to making the COA a responsive and transformational audit arm of government," Villar said.

"As chair of the COA, Cordoba pledges to infuse new perspectives in the agency. Under his leadership, the Commission on Audit will emphasize assistance, partnership and guidance to government agencies in terms of myriad government auditing rules and regulations," she added.

Villar likewise said that Cordoba will steer COA to be a partner of government agencies in the proper expenditure of public funds.

Meanwhile, Ople will serve as the first secretary of the newly-created DMW until the end of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s administration, unless she is replaced or resigns from the post.

In sponsoring Ople's appointment to the plenary, Bacolod City Representative Greg Gasataya said the DMW secretary is now given the opportunity to champion not only the rights and welfare of workers but also to create a home and haven for our modern-day heroes.”

CA majority leader and Camarines Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte acknowledged Ople's dedication and passion to serve and help Filipino migrant workers.

Senator JV Ejercito honored the DMW secretary by saying that the inherited the DNA of public service from her father, the late labor minister, foreign affairs secretary and senate president Blas Ople.

While her father became popular for championing labor issues in the country, Ejercito said, Ople "made a name for herself as an advocate for workers' rights and welfare."

Before confirming Ople's appointment, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri also acknowledged the DMW chief's background as an advocate of migrant workers' rights.

"If there is anyone in this world we can say that is born to the job and task, it is this honorable lady, Ma’am Secretary Toots Ople,” Zubiri said. —AOL/BM, GMA Integrated News