MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Secretary Leila de Lima who will stay at the helm of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The plenary decision came after the committee on justice and judicial and bar council unanimously nominated De Lima for confirmation.
The confirmation also followed two confirmation hearings where De Lima was questioned about her decisions on the "pork barrel" scandal and cases as well as some alleged issues on her personal integrity.
President Aquino's spokesman Edwin Lacierda congratulated De Lima for the commission's approval "in spite of the tortuous grilling in the CA committee."
"You truly displayed true grace under pressure! Go Leila!" Lacierda said on his Twitter account.
The CA also confirmed the appointments of Social Welfare Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje and Audit Commission Heidi Mendoza.
The decision came four years after she was appointed by President Aquino for an interim position.
In the first hearing last week, Senator Jinggoy Estrada accused De Lima of receiving P1-million monthly allowance under former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's watch.
Related: Jinggoy: De Lima got P1M monthly allowance from GMA
De Lima denied Estrada's claims and said that her office would only receive P500,000 in intelligence funds. - Camille Diola