Commission on Appointments
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "For". Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use Philippine English Template:Infobox legislature Template:Sidebar with collapsible lists The Commission on Appointments (Template:Langx,[1] abbreviated as CA) is a constitutional body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the President of the Philippines. The current commission was created by the 1987 Constitution.[2]
While often associated with the Congress of the Philippines, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and mistakenly referred to as a congressional committee,[3] the Commission on Appointments is an independent body from the legislature, though its membership is confined to members of Congress.[2]
Background
The Commission on Appointments confirms certain appointments made by the President of the Philippines. Article VII, Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution reads:
"The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, or officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers whose appointments are vested in him in this Constitution. He shall also appoint all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint. The Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of other officers lower in rank in the President alone, in the courts, or in the heads of departments, agencies, commissions, or boards.[4]
The Vice President is exempted from a confirmation hearing to any cabinet position.[5][6] The nomination of a person to the vice presidency due to a vacancy is handled by both houses of Congress, voting separately.
During the operation of the Jones Law, the Senate confirmed the Governor-General's appointments. During the operation of the 1935 Constitution, the commission was composed of 21 members of the National Assembly of the Philippines. With the restoration of the bicameral Congress in 1940, the commission was composed of 12 senators and 12 representatives with the Senate President as the ex officio chairman. During the operation of the 1973 Constitution, the president appointed at will and without "checks and balances" from the then-parliament. The current constitution, which was ratified in 1987, brought back the 25-member commission.[7]
Officials confirmed
- Heads of Executive Departments
- Ambassadors, other Public Ministers and Consuls
- High Ranking Officers of the Armed Forces from the rank of Colonel or Naval Captain
- Regular Members of the Judicial and Bar Council
- Chairman and Commissioners of the Civil Service Commission
- Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Elections
- Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Audit
The appointments of all judges and the Ombudsman need not be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. Instead, they are recommended by the Judicial and Bar Council in a short list, from which the President shall then choose from.
Prior to the institutionalization of the party-list system, the president appointed the sectoral representatives. Congress then decided to have these confirmed via the commission, as well.
Under the 1935 Constitution
- Heads of the executive departments and bureaus
- Officers of the Army from the rank of colonel, of the Navy and air forces from the rank of captain or commander
- All other officers of the Government whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint
- Ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls
- Members of the Supreme Court and all judges of inferior courts
- The Resident Commissioner of the Philippines (until 1946)
Composition
The commission is composed of the Senate President, the ex officio chairman, twelve senators, and twelve members of the House of Representatives. Members from each house of Congress are elected based on proportional representation from the political parties and parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented. The Chairman of the Commission shall vote only in case of a tie. It shall act on all appointments submitted within thirty session days of Congress. It shall be governed by a majority vote of all members.[8]
Procedure
A president can either make a nomination or an appointment. Either action involves the commission.
Most presidential actions are ad interim appointments, done when Congress is not in session. In these cases, the appointment allows the official to discharge the duties related to the office immediately. The ad interim appointment ceases to be valid if the commission explicitly rejects the appointment, or if the commission "bypasses" the appointment. If the commission rejects the appointment, the official is no longer allowed to discharge the duties related to his or her office, and the president has to appoint someone else. If the commission bypasses the official, the president can re-appoint that person.
The president can also nominate an official if Congress is in session. In a "regular" nomination, the official can only discharge the duties once the commission consents to the appointment.
Just as other legislative bodies, the commission is divided into different committees. Each appointment is coursed through the committee concerned. After hearings are held, the committee decides to confirm or reject the appointment; the commission en banc then deliberates on whether to accept the committee's decision.
Meeting place
The commission meets at the GSIS Building in Pasay, the seat of the Senate.
Current membership
The 20th Congress shall elect the members of the commission.
- Chairman: vacant (the Senate president as ex officio chairman).
- Majority Floor Leader: vacant
- Minority Floor Leader: vacant
- Secretary: Myra Marie D. Villarica
- Sergeant-at-Arms: Nicasio Javier Radovan Jr.
Rejection of appointment
Rejection by the commission of the president's appointment is very rare. Usually, due to the padrino system of patronage politics, the president's party controls a supermajority of votes in the House of Representatives, thus mirroring its composition of the commission. This means appointments are almost always are approved, although some are not without difficulty.
| Person chosen | Position | Year | Chosen by | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Concepcion Bautista | Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights | 1989 | Corazon Aquino | [9] |
| Ramon del Rosario | Secretary of Finance | 1993 | Fidel V. Ramos | [10] |
| Ricardo Saludo | Chairman of the Civil Service Commission | 2009 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | [11] |
| Perfecto Yasay | Secretary of Foreign Affairs | 2017 | Rodrigo Duterte | [12] |
| Gina Lopez | Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources | 2017 | [13] | |
| Rafael V. Mariano | Secretary of Agrarian Reform | 2017 | [14] | |
| Judy Taguiwalo | Secretary of Social Welfare and Development | 2017 | [15] | |
| Paulyn Ubial | Secretary of Health | 2017 | [16] | |
| Michael Peloton | Commissioner of the Commission on Elections | 2021 | [17] |
In Bautista vs. Salonga, the Supreme Court ruled that the positions within the Commission on Human Rights are not one of the positions confirmed by the Commission on Appointments, invalidating Bautista's rejection.
Another way the commission can reject an appointment is by bypassing it; here, the nomination is not acted upon until Congress adjourns its session. The president can still renominate the person for the next session of Congress. If the commission bypasses a nomination and then Congress adjourns sine die, the nomination is lost. There had been proposals to limit bypasses up to three.[18]
Committees
The commission has several committees:
| Committee | Positions considered |
|---|---|
| Foreign Affairs |
|
| National Defense |
|
| Finance | Secretary of Finance |
| Budget and Management | Secretary of Budget and Management |
| Justice and Judicial and Bar Council |
|
| Agriculture | Secretary of Agriculture |
| Public Works and Highways | Secretary of Public Works and Highways |
| Education | Secretary of Education |
| Labor, Employment, Social Welfare and Migrant Workers | |
| Health | Secretary of Health |
| Trade and Industry | Secretary of Trade and Industry |
| Tourism and Economic Development | |
| Environment and Natural Resources | Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources |
| Science and Technology | Secretary of Science and Technology |
| Interior and Local Government | Secretary of the Interior and Local Government |
| Constitutional Commissions and Offices |
|
| Transportation | Secretary of Transportation |
| Agrarian Reforms | Secretary of Agrarian Reform |
| Executive Secretary and Presidential Communications Offices of the Office of the President and the Philippine Space Agency |
|
| Energy | Secretary of Energy |
| Information and Communications Technology | Secretary of Information and Communications Technology |
| Human Settlements and Urban Development | Secretary of Human Settlements and Urban Development |
See also
- Appointments Clause, clause in the United States Constitution where the commission is based from.
References
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- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, Chan Robles law library.
- ↑ 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, art. 7, sec. 3
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External links
Template:Philippine Senate Template:Philippine House of Representatives