Cayetano confident of getting CA nod

PHNOM PENH – Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano is confident he will breeze through the Commission on Appointments (CA) as he relinquishes his post as legislator after President Duterte appointed him secretary of foreign affairs.

Cayetano arrived here from Geneva, Switzerland to join the President in the World Economic Forum on ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) that is being held here, with more than 700 participants from 40 countries. 

He expressed gratitude to the President for appointing him as Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) chief.

He told reporters on Wednesday night that he and his wife, Taguig Mayor Lani, had prayed “that the President would use me where he could help the administration for the nation.”

Cayetano clarified he still needs to go through the CA and that both houses of Congress are still in session.

“So until that time, I’ll still be serving in the Senate,” said Cayetano, who himself is a member of the CA.

He currently chairs the Senate committee on foreign relations and was part of the delegation on numerous presidential foreign trips.

“The DFA from the secretary down to the most humble employee will not have their own agenda or their own foreign policy but we’ll all work hard together to implement the foreign policy of the Philippines, led by the President,” he said, citing the need to see to the “welfare and protection” of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as well as their “comfort and convenience.”

Cayetano noted that “suddenly we’re relevant around the world,” with world leaders like US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping calling up the President.

“So the new bridges, the new friends that the President established, and then how do we repair if there are problems with our old allies. So that’s the mission of those in the DFA, to follow the policy of the President, but to keep building bridges,” he emphasized.

In this regard, Cayetano plans to institutionalize regular briefings in the DFA.

Senate to decide on vacancy

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday said the Senate leadership and not the commission will decide if Cayetano would be replaced or not.

“In case a legislator leaves his seat, the leadership of the Chamber has the authority to declare a vacancy and call for a special election. This is not the Comelec’s task,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez disclosed.

Jimenez, however, believes that the Senate leadership may no longer replace Cayetano due to the proximity of the end of his term as senator.

Cayetano is serving his second term in the Senate, which ends in 2019.            

“One of the things usually taken into consideration is the length of time the seat will remain vacant in case no special elections are called. If, as in this case, the legislator’s term is set to expire in 2019, it is reasonable to expect that it will have some bearing on the final decision,” Jimenez explained.

Republic Act 7166 provides that in case a permanent vacancy occurs in the Senate or House of Representatives at least one year before the expiration of the term, the Comelec shall hold a special election to fill the vacancy.

If Cayetano decides to accept the DFA post, he has to give up his Senate seat. 

Cayetano is also confident Duterte will still have the support of the Senate even when he relinquishes his job as senator and transfers to the DFA.

“The President is in good hands in the present Senate. And then we’ll have an election in 2019. I will tell you that whether or not I was going to the Executive,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano said the President has many allies in the Senate, including Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto, Senators Panfilo Lacson, Richard Gordon, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Manny Pacquiao, Sherwin Gatchalian, Joel Villanueva. – With Jess Diaz, Mayen Jaymalin