Noy stands by bypassed Cabinet secretaries

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino is standing by his Cabinet members who have been repeatedly bypassed by the Commission on Appointments, even as he appealed to CA members to put aside personal issues in evaluating his appointees.

He also justified his decision to reappoint bypassed officials, saying it was a matter of trust.

“We are trusting the system that will eventually… hopefully confirm all of these people. But, again, when we ask why they have yet to be confirmed, it appears that the specific individuals have an axe to grind,” Aquino told reporters yesterday in an ambush interview on the sidelines of the Asia Europe Meeting on disaster risk reduction and management in Manila.

He said the objections seemed personal and “we are hoping that this shifts from personal to professional or very professional.”

The CA has repeatedly bypassed Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje and Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman.

De Lima, Soliman

Of the four, only two appear to be headed for confirmation, according to Senator Sergio Osmeña III.

He said De Lima and Soliman would most likely be confirmed, four years after they were appointed by the President. He said nothing would stand in the way of their confirmation next week in spite of the opposition raised by several persons.

The CA committee on labor has endorsed the approval of Soliman’s nomination during its plenary session on Wednesday.

De Lima, on the other hand, is scheduled for another hearing upon the request of Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, who still wanted to raise some questions.

During her confirmation hearing last Wednesday, De Lima was grilled by Senator Jinggoy Estrada and opposed by Sandra Cam, who heads a whistle-blowers’ organization.

“I think she has a very good chance of being confirmed next week. You don’t even have to count because the Palace controls the vote. The moment you bring it to a vote it’s going to be a yes,” Osmeña said.

Not happy

Osmeña said he intends to grill Paje next Tuesday.

“This is his 4th or 5th hearing since 2010. I am still not happy with all of his answers; they’re all very general. I want him to be more specific. You know why? Because there’s a lot of shenanigans going on in the sector covered by the DENR,” he said.

“I could do better in appointing a more competent, hands on person. Of course I’m not happy. But I’m not happy with most of P-Noy’s appointees anyway,” he added.

The CA committee on energy, which Osmeña chairs, has yet to schedule Petilla’s confirmation hearing.

Osmeña has long been critical of the appointment of Petilla, who he said has been ineffective.

Different circumstances

Meanwhile, Aquino said a bill he filed as a senator in 2007 prohibiting the pPresident from reappointing a nominee thrice bypassed by the CA should not be taken against him now.

He said his decision to reappoint his bypassed Cabinet members did not come with orders diminishing their powers, like what former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did to former justice secretary Raul Gonzalez.

He cited an executive order that Arroyo issued reorganizing the Board of Pardons and Parole removing Gonzalez as BPP chair.

“Mrs. Arroyo kept on reappointing Secretary Gonzalez, and at the same time, she was diminishing the powers of the secretary of justice. I think there was a very significant difference between her reappointments and maybe my reappointments,” he said.

He said De Lima told him she was no longer part of the BPP when she was inquiring about the case of convicted killer former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste, who was granted parole. –With Marvin Sy