Wanted: CA code of conduct

The head of the 12-member House contingent in the Commission on Appointments (CA) is proposing that his panel prescribe “rules of conduct” for its members.

Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles said once his team is fully organized, it “will establish parameters, objectives and rules of conduct for the House delegation.”

He said the panel would also propose that the CA act swiftly and with transparency on Cabinet appointments and promotions in the military and diplomatic service that are subject to its confirmation.

“We intend to confirm or reject those who seek confirmation at the earliest possible time with utmost public transparency and pass upon their qualifications and their competence with clear objectivity,” he said.

The proposal of Nograles for the House CA panel to come up with clear rules of conduct is apparently an offshoot of the charges leveled last month by then Negros Oriental Rep. Herminio Teves against certain congressmen who were CA members.

Though he was not a CA member, Nograles himself was dragged in this controversy.

Teves had accused his colleagues of demanding P5 million each from some Cabinet members, including his son, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, in exchange for their confirmation.

On the part of Secretary Teves, he said he personally received from these congressmen “requests in kind” – specifically appointments for relatives and friends in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs.

Former Surigao del Sur representative Prospero Pichay Jr., who headed the House CA contingent in the previous Congress, had denied he and his colleagues had demanded money or favors from Cabinet members.

However, he admitted that in at least one meeting with Secretary Teves, they discussed their and other House members’ “concerns” with the finance chief.

He said two congressmen who had concerns with Teves were Nograles and Western Samar Rep. Reynaldo Uy. When asked to go into specifics, Pichay said such concerns had to do with appointments in agencies under Teves.

Sought for comment, Nograles said he did not know “what Butch (Pichay) was talking about.”

He said he made no request from the finance secretary, though he admitted recommending people directly to then BIR Commissioner Jose Mario Buñag and Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales.

Secretary Teves, along with other Cabinet members, also complained of long delays in CA action on their appointments.

Former economic planning secretary Romulo Neri once complained to Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. about the two-year delay in his confirmation.

Some Cabinet members who had already been confirmed said CA members asked not for money or favors but for tens of millions worth of projects from them.

Commenting on the controversy, Senate President Manuel Villar, CA chairman, had said projects should not be discussed during confirmation hearings.

CA members should be concerned not with projects but with the appointees, qualifications and fitness, he said.