Noy going to Europe with unconfirmed envoy

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino is going on a trip to Europe, which includes a state visit to Germany, with the ambassador to Germany not yet confirmed by the Commission on Appointments (CA).

The appointment of Melita Sta. Maria-Thomezeck was among those left hanging after the walkout by CA foreign affairs committee chairman Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Wednesday over the rules on quorum.

In a letter to CA chairman and Senate President Franklin Drilon, Santiago said he should issue a “gentle reminder” to the members of the 12-member CA panel to be punctual during the confirmation hearing of the foreign service officers next week.

She said the panel could take action on each of the nominated diplomats if the House members of the CA panel could come on time.

Santiago blew her top on Wednesday when Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, the CA majority leader, reminded her that the CA rules require the presence of a majority of committee members if the panel were to endorse the diplomats’ promotions.

However, Santiago said that under the CA rules the presence of the chair or vice chair, or at least three members, shall be sufficient for conducting public hearings and acting on motions and other incidents.

“As committee chair, I am the quorum and possess the power to legally transact business,” she said.

In her letter to Fariñas yesterday, Santiago said their “exchange of arguments may be resolved in a conciliatory manner.”

“I do not wish to ruin the friendship between yourself and my family, by our contretemps in the discharge of our official functions yesterday,” she said.

“I humbly believe that there is no need for apology on either side… when I waved you into the hearing hall yesterday, I hold out the hand of friendship,” she added.

She said committee members should decide whether they should immediately vote on each nominee or withhold individual voting until all the nominees have been investigated.

“If we are able to make a decision… the committee conducts the investigation with the chair serving as quorum, and that the members go into a meeting where the necessary voting will be a majority of all the members of the committee,” she said.

Wrong side of the bed

Fariñas shrugged off Santiago’s outburst.

“I am happy, and am not angry,” he said.

“We’re actually close friends – we’re family friends. And Jun (Miriam’s husband) and I often have lunch at our house… Maybe we both woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” he said.

Fariñas said it is his duty as CA majority leader to ensure that proper procedures are followed.

He added that he did not embarrass Santiago and questioned the presence of a quorum “in a nice way.”

“It’s a constitutional procedure, a quorum is needed for the committee to do business,” he told reporters in Ilocos Norte, where he attended the 97th birth anniversary of the late President Ferdinand Marcos.

He said he has not yet spoken with the senator since the incident at the Senate.

Fariñas said he also agrees with the points Santiago raised in her letter, adding that the confirmation of the diplomats was not derailed by her walkout. He said they could just schedule another meeting. – With Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero, Ariel Paolo Tejada