Marcos Jr. gets to pick new Comelec, CSC, COA chairs as they fail to secure CA nod
MANILA, Philippines — President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will get to pick new chairpersons for the Commission on Elections, the Commission on Audit and the Civil Service Commission as the nominees to these posts failed Wednesday to secure the approval of the powerful Commission on Appointments.
A subcommittee tackling appointments to constitutional bodies like the Comelec and the CSC adjourned its meeting due to a lack of quorum as only eight members were present.
With Congress adjourning sine die on Wednesday, the CA can no longer tackle ad interim appointments made by President Rodrigo Duterte.
As a result, the appointments of Comelec chairperson Saidamen Pangarungan, COA chairperson Rizalina Justol and CSC chairperson Karlo Nograles were effectively bypassed. Also bypassed were Comelec Commissioners George Garcia and Aimee Neri.
The CA, composed of lawmakers from both the Senate and the House of Representatives, has been deferring action on the appointments of the five Duterte appointees, initially due to their being busy with the canvassing of votes for president and vice president.
Later on, however, Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri admitted that the incoming Marcos administration requested that the CA bypass Duterte's appointees so he would have a free hand in appointing people in these posts.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Sen. Koko Pimentel countered Zubiri by saying that Marcos would still be able to appoint his chosen people to these posts as their terms would expire within his presidency except for Nograles whose term should have ended in 2029.
Besides, Pimentel said, the person who appoints these officials should not be a big deal as long as they are independent, have integrity and are competent.
But in the end, the wishes of the incoming Marcos administration prevailed.
“We cannot please everybody. This is a political body, we know there is a request from the new administration to give them that courtesy,” said Zubiri, who is a top candidate for the Senate presidency.
- Latest
- Trending
