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Friday, June 09, 2006
Approval of Army head, agri chief appointments put off
THE confirmation of Army Chief Hermogenes Esperon and Agriculture Secretary Domingo Panganiban, along with 10 other members of the Cabinet, was bypassed by the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) during Wednesday's hearing.
Senator Rodolfo Biazon succeeded in convincing the CA to block the confirmation of Esperon when the commission decided to refer back the argument over his confirmation to the committee on national defense and security.
The committee, chaired by Camiguin Representative Jurdin Jesus Romualdo, on Tuesday outvoted Biazon when he moved to defer Esperon's confirmation to the rank of Lieutenant General pending the submission of the Mayuga Report, which detailed the alleged involvement of ranking military officials in fraud in the 2004 elections.
But on Wednesday's session, the CA that the committee on national defense and security resolve the motion of Biazon who also asked the commission to let him bring witnesses to the alleged participation of Esperon to rig the results of the 2004 presidential election.
The CA bypassed Panganiban's confirmation when congressmen blocked it so that the agriculture chief could answer some of their queries.
Aside from Esperon and Panganiban, the other Cabinet members whose appointments were deemed bypassed were Hermogenes Ebdane (public works and highways), Angelo Reyes (environment and natural resources), Francisco Duque (health), Raphael Lotilla (energy), Esperanza Cabral (social welfare and development), Raul Gonzalez Sr. (justice), Margarito Tevez (finance), Peter Favila (trade and industry), Ronaldo Puno (interior and local government), Rolando Andaya (budget and management) and Romulo Neri (socio-economic planning).
The CA, meanwhile, confirmed the appointments of Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza, Rene Sarmiento as commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Juanito Espino Jr. as commissioner of the Commission on Audit (COA), Mary Ann Mendoza as commissioner of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and retired Supreme Court associate justice Regino Hermosisima Jr. as a member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) representing the retired justices of the high court. (REC/Sunnex)
(June 9, 2006 issue)
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