The hottest topic now is the Commission on Appointments, a.k.a. CA. Why? Because the biggest casualty bushwhacked as it cruised along its straight path was the legendary secretary-no-more Yasay. Yes, the best and the most perfect appointment made by pRRD (president Rodrigo Roa Duterte) was dumped by the CA. And why was Yasay considered the perfect appointee among the anointed appointees? Like my dear Nanang Ettang, Yasay was given the perfect name among all the names we can remember – Perfecto (or Perfecta for my mom). See? And so, why was Perfecto Yasay – na-wasay by the powerful CA? What is this animal called CA? We will not deal with the reason why the “ax was made to fall (and heavily)” on Yasay – na-wasay. That is a very interesting matter to discuss later.
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Consulting D.O.H. or Department of Help, through the very efficient search engine available on the net like google, bling, edge, and others, here are some key facts that we should need to know. The Commission on Appointments – Komisyon sa Paghirang in Filipino – abbreviated as CA, is a constitutional body of the Congress of the Philippines. Its very basis of existence is the Constitution. It confirms certain appointments made by the President of the Philippines. Needless to state that if the CA denies, then the appointment is considered as a scrap of paper.
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Section 16, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution states: “The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, or officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers whose appointments are vested in him in this Constitution. He shall also appoint all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint. The Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of other officers lower in rank in the President alone, in the courts, or in the heads of departments, agencies, commissions, or boards.”
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The only government official that is exempted to go through eye of the needle of the CA is when the Vice President is appointed to a cabinet post. And on the other hand, when a person is nominated to the Vice Presidency due to vacancy, both houses of Congress – the House of Representatives and the Senate shall handle it but they have to vote separately.
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Today, the CA is composed of 24 members, plus 1 –– 12 coming from the Senate and another 12 coming from the House of Representatives. In the 1935 constitution which was replaced in 1971, the composition is only 12 that comes from the Senate only.
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The CA is a creation under the Constitution. Its function is to consent to or confirm nominations or appointments submitted to it by the President. Although its membership is confined to members of Congress, the said commission is independent of Congress.
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The officials to pass the proverbial and powerful CA are the following: (a) Heads of Executive Departments, (b) Ambassadors, other Public Ministers and Consuls, (c) Officers of the Armed Forces from the rank of Colonel or Naval Captain, (d) Regular Members of the Judicial and Bar Council, (e) Chairman and Commissioners of the Civil Service Commission, (f) Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Elections, (g) Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Audit, (h) Members of the Regional and Consultative Commissions, and (i) Chief of Philippine National Police. However, the appointments of all judges and the Ombudsman shall not be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. Instead, they are recommended by the Judicial and Bar Council, and the President shall select from the recommendations.
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The Commission is composed of the Senate President, as ex officio Chairman, 12 Senators and 12 members of the House of Representatives. Members from each House of Congress are elected based on proportional representation from the political parties and parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented. The Chairman of the Commission shall vote only in case of a tie. This is the explanation of the formula of 24 (+ 1). It shall act on all appointments submitted within thirty session days of Congress. It shall be governed by a majority vote of all members.
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As stated earlier, the CA was again at the forefront recently because of the botched appointment of Perfecto Yasay of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the equally popular but feisty Maria Paz Lopez. Their common denominator is Congresswoman Josephine Y. Ramirez-Sato, who stood her ground in the case of Yasay. And Lopez could have suffered the same fate had she not gone to the United States.
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The current members of the CA under the 17th Congress as of March 7, 2017 for the SENATE are: Aquilino Pimentel III (PDP-Laban, Majority), Alan Peter Cayetano (Nationalista, Majority), Juan Miguel Zubiri (PDP-Laban, Majority), Franklin Drilon (Liberal, Majority), Kiko Pangilinan (Liberal, Minority), Bam Aquino (Liberal, Majority), Gregorio Honasan (UNA, Majority), Panfilo Lacson (Independent, Majority), Loren Legarda (NPC, Majority), Vicente Sotto III (NPC, Majority), JV Ejercito (PDP-Laban, Majority), Manny Pacquiao (PDP-Laban, Majority), and Ralph Recto (Liberal, Majority); while for the HOUSE are: Ronaldo Zamora (PDP-Laban, Majority), Tonyboy Floirendo (PDP-Laban, Majority), Jerry Treñas (PDP-Laban, Majority), Rodolfo T. Albano III (Nationalista, Minority), Benhur Salimbangon (NUP, Majority), Josephine Y. Ramirez-Sato (Liberal, Majority), Julieta Cortuna (A-TEACHER, Minority), Roy Loyola (PDP-Laban, Majority), Abraham Tolentino (PDP-Laban, Majority), Weslie Gatchalian (NPC, Majority), Sandy Ocampo (Liberal, Majority), and Joel Mayo Almario (PDP-Laban, Majority).
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Let us deal then on the politics side next time.