MANILA, Philippines – The word war continues between former environment secretary Gina Lopez and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano following Lopez’s rejection by the Commission on Appointments (CA).

On Friday, May 5, Lopez wrote a Facebook post responding to a “trending” article that said Cayetano – a member of the powerful CA – voted against her because she retained the mining operation of a certain Eric Gutierrez, supposedly one of the biggest campaign contributors of Manuel Roxas II.

“I am a development person – I don’t choose on political agendas. That is totally out of my principle. Maybe Sen Cayetano should take a long hard look at himself and reflect why he does the things he does,” Lopez wrote in a Facebook post.

Cayetano, who is in Geneva as part of the Philippine delegation to the Third Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council, sent a statement on Friday to respond to Lopez who, he said is “singling” him out.

“I’m not surprised that Sec Gina and her group will go so low as to cast aspersions on why I voted the way I did and even accuse me of being in the pockets of the mining industry,” he said.

Cayetano said Lopez is not fit to be environment secretary because of her “unwillingness to comply with institutional processes.”

“She would have embarrassed the President in no time,” the senator added.

He clarified that he gave Lopez “enough chances” at the CA hearings “to dispel fears that she would not observe the legal process in regulating the mining industry.”

“Unfortunately, the Secretary was adamant in defending her illegal actions. If she had carried on with her mindset, it would have embarrassed the Duterte Administration sooner or later. She would have placed the administration in a predicament that would be hard to defend,” he added.

Cayetano said that while he respects Lopez’s passion, “she cannot arrogate unto herself Constitutional powers reserved exclusively for Congress.”

“Many officials have invoked good intentions when they violated our anti-graft and corruption laws, and President Rodrigo Duterte was left with no choice but to terminate them. Ms Lopez’s recent acts already bordered along these lines,” he explained.

Cayetano’s statement came two days after the CA rejected Lopez’s ad interim appointment as environment secretary.

At least 3 high-level sources from the CA confirmed it was a vote of 16-8 against Lopez during the secret voting.

During the last confirmation hearing on Tuesday, May 2, the senator questioned Lopez’s “arbitrariness” when it comes to her standards on different environmental issues. 

Cayetano on Friday said he initially did not want to explain his vote because it would be “like rubbing salt in a wound.”

He said he felt “it would be cruel to reject then put her down.”

“I hope that the President will appoint another Ms Lopez with the same zeal, yet still mindful of the requisite that one must be faithful to the mandate and dictates of our laws and processes,” he said.

Following here rejection, Lopez claimed “business interests” played a part in the CA vote.

While President Rodrigo Duterte had also attributed the fate of his former official to “lobby money,” some believe that Lopez could have been confirmed if the Chief Executive really wanted her to remain as environment chief. (READ: Trillanes: ‘Duterte fed Gina Lopez to the lions’)  – Rappler.com