Approve or Reject? Let the Commission on Appointments decide!

QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — The Commission on Appointments (CA) last Wednesday, March 8, rejected the appointment of Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. for failing to disclose the status of his citizenship before the committee.

During his confirmation hearing last February 22, Yasay said he never legally acquired an American citizenship because when it was issued to him on November 1986, the foreign citizenship was “null and void.”

“I was disqualified from acquiring US citizenship because I have to abandon my residency in the US to return to Manila for good,” Yasay insisted during the hearing.

However, in his interview with ANC on March 6, Yasay said he used to have an American passport, which is only given to US citizens.

One must be a pure Filipino citizen to qualify for a Cabinet position or any position in civil service.

On Wednesday, March 8, Occidental Mindoro Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato, a CA member said Secretary Yasay’s request for withdrawal of his naturalization in the US was made last June 2016 and the request for the citizenship termination was only approved February this year.

That’s the reason why Senator Panfilo Lacson, chair of the Senate committee on foreign affairs, announced that the CA members voted unanimously to reject the appointment of Yasay.

“After careful deliberations of the foregoing circumstances and upon a unanimous vote of 15 of its members present in a caucus held this morning, this representation as chairman of the [CA] committee on foreign affairs hereby moves to reject the ad interim appointment of Atty. Perfecto Rivas Yasay Jr. as secretary of Foreign Affairs,” Lacson said in a televised hearing.

“Let this be a reminder to everyone present in this hall that by definition, an oath is a solemn declaration accompanied by a swearing to God or a revered person or thing that one’s statement is true or that one will be bound to a promise. The person making the oath implicitly invites punishment if the statements are untrue or the promise is broken,” the senator added.

In this matter, only the Commission on Appointments is the proper forum to determine the qualifications and fitness of Yasay as Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

So, let’s take a look at the duties and responsibilities of the Commission and the people behind the approvals or rejections.

The Commission on Appointments (abbreviated as CA) is a body of the Congress of the Philippines as provided by the Constitution. It confirms certain appointments made by the President of the Philippines. Article VII, Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution reads:

“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.”

The only government official that is exempted is the Vice-President.

Officials confirmed by the CA

1. Heads of Executive Departments
2. Ambassadors, other Public Ministers, and Consuls
3. Officers of the Armed Forces from the rank of Colonel or Naval Captain
4. Regular Members of the Judicial and Bar Council
5. Chairman and Commissioners of the Civil Service Commission
6. Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Elections
7. Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Audit
8. Members of the Regional and Consultative Commissions
9. 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.

Structure

The Commission is composed of the Senate President – who serves as the the ex officio Chairman – in addition to twelve Senators and twelve members of the House of Representatives. Members of each House of Congress are elected based on proportional representation from the political parties and parties or organizations registered under the party-list system.  The Chairman of the Commission shall vote only in case of a tie. It shall act on all appointments submitted within thirty session days of Congress. It shall be governed by a majority vote of all members.

Members of the CA in the 17th Congress

(As of March 7, 2017)

CA members

*Pimentel only votes to break ties

Appointment Process

The regular appointments which are contemplated under the first paragraph of Article VII, Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution go through the following stages:
1. Nomination
2. Consent
3. Appointment
4. Acceptance by the nominee
What the President sends to the Commission is just a nomination. After the Commission has given its consent, the President issues the appointment. It is only when the last stage has been completed may the officer concerned take his oath of office.

The second paragraph of Article VII, Sec. 16, of the 1987 Constitution also empowers the President to issue appointments while the Congress is not in session. Such appointments are called ad interim appointments, and it goes through the following stages: Appointment and Confirmation.

An ad interim appointment is permanent in nature and takes effect immediately. Thus, one who was issued an ad interim appointment may immediately enter upon the discharge of his functions.
An ad interim appointment ceases to be valid upon disapproval by the Commission on Appointments or, if not confirmed, until the next adjournment of Congress.

Officers subject to confirmation

Under Section 16, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution, there are two classes of public officers whose appointments need confirmation. These are:
The heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain; and
 other officers whose appointments are vested in the President by the 1987 Constitution.
The officers referred to under this provisions are the Chairman and Members of Constitutional Commission such as the Commission on Elections, the Commission on Audit and the Civil Service Commission; the regular members of the Judicial and Bar Council.

Confirmation flow process

ca flow

Since Mr. Prefecto Yasay Jr. has been rejected by the CA as the DFA Secretary, President Rodrigo Duterte appointed on Thursday, March 9, his Undersecretary, Enrique Manalo as the new acting Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“Undersecretary Enrique Manalo has been designated and appointed as Acting Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs by President Rodrigo Duterte,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

“Undersecretary Manalo will hold the position until the President appoints a new secretary,” Abella added.

“Usec. Manalo is an excellent transition man and has been on top of many crucial issues together with Atty. Perfecto Yasay,” Sec. Abella concluded.

(words and research by Jodi Bustos, edited by Jay Paul Carlos)