De Lima, Paje, Soliman confirmed after 4 years

Angela Casauay

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

COA Commissioners Heidi Mendoza, Jose Fabia are also confirmed. The only cabinet secretary left to be confirmed is Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla.
FINALLY. The Commission on Appointments confirms the nomination of COA Commissioner Heidi Mendoza, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje and COA Commissioner Jose Fabia. Photo by Cesar Tomambo/Senate PRIB

MANILA, Philippines – At long last.  

After 4 years of being in office, the Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday, June 11, finally confirmed the appointments of 3 cabinet secretaries. They are:  

  • Justice Secretary Leila de Lima
  • Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman
  • Environment Secretary Ramon Paje

Watch the confirmation of appointments below.

 

On the last day of session before Congress adjourns sine die, members of the CA also confirmed the appointment of two commissioners of the Commission on Audit (COA): Heidi Mendoza and Jose Fabia. 

Except for Paje, all government officials were confirmed without objections. Senator Sergio Osmeña III cast a negative vote against Paje. 

It took two sessions before De Lima was confirmed and her first appearance before the committee was only on Wednesday, June 11. It was then when Senator Jinggoy Estrada chided her for failing to schedule hearings for her appointment. 

The confirmation of Paje, whose nomination was referred to plenary on Tuesday, June 10, meanwhile, took 7 hearings – the longest among all cabinet secretaries. Soliman‘s took 3 hearings. 

All 3 cabinet secretaries were appointed by the President in June 2010.  

With their confirmation, the only cabinet secretary left to be confirmed is Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla. Commission on Elections Commissioner Grace Padaca’s nomination has yet to hurdle the committee level. 

In the nick of time 

The nominations of De Lima and Mendoza were recommended to the plenary only shortly before Wednesday’s session started.

In previous hearings, issues against De Lima included her alleged involvement in an illicit affair and her one million-peso allowance as former chairperson of the Committee on Human Rights. De Lima refused to answer allegations regarding her personal life and clarified that the “allowance” was an intelligence fund for CHR. 

Mendoza’s appointment, meanwhile, was almost delayed anew. 

As the plenary session was scheduled at 1 pm Wednesday, Estrada told the committee he would not be able to finish all his questions within 30 minutes. 

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said there had been enough time for questions in the past and moved for the recommendation of the confirmation of Mendoza. 

“Senator Estrada was given enough time. We can’t be hostaged by any member,” Trillanes said. 

Estrada objected and accused the committee of “railroading” Mendoza’s confirmation.  

After pausing for a break, Trillanes decided to withdraw his motion and let Estrada ask questions.

Grilling

Estrada grilled Mendoza about the Sandiganbayan’s decision dismissing the plunder charge against retired Major General Carlos Garcia. Mendoza served as the team leader of the COA-Ombudsman investigating committee on the case. 

Estrada said the court ruled that Mendoza’s audit report was “insufficient to sustain a conviction.” But Mendoza was firm that she was not guilty of any shortcomings in the audit. 

“If the auditor will be branded as incompetent simply because the case is dismissed in courts, then it will be a challenge to the Commission itself,” Mendoza said. 

“If such case is dismissed, definitely I would argue it does not reflect the incompetence of the auditor but rather the flaws in managing the gap between the audit and the prosecution,” she added. 

Estrada asked: “Hindi ninyo po inaamin na kayo ay nagkulang? Aminin niyo na kasi. Baka may konting pride kayo kaya [ayaw ninyong aminin].” 

(You won’t admit that you had shortcomings? Just admit it. Maybe you still have a little pride left that’s why [you don’t want to admit it].”

Mendoza answered: “Wala na po akong pride. Paulit-ulit na po akong bumabalik dito (I don’t have any pride left. I’ve been coming back here for so many times already). As a member of a government institution, I respect the decision of the court.” 

Meanwhile, Mendoza’s colleague, Fabia, was confirmed on his first day of appearance before the committee. Fabia, a former mayor of Binmaley, Pangasinan, was appointed only in 2014. 

No drama

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago had earlier vowed to block the confirmation of Soliman by invoking Section 20 of the CA rules and automatically suspend any nomination. 

But her plan did not push through after the committee decided to schedule Soliman’s confirmation on Wednesday, June 11, after she was referred to plenary on Wednesday, June 4.

Section 20 of the CA rules states that a CA member can’t suspend the nomination of an official before the plenary “during the last session prior to an adjournment of Congress.” 

In his endorsement of Soliman on the floor, Abono party-list Representative Conrado Estrella III, chairperson of the House committee on labor, lauded Soliman’s role in expanding the scope of the government’s conditional cash transfer program, and for spearheading relief efforts during natural disasters. 

Paje, meanwhile, was the lone cabinet secretary who got a dissenting vote during his confirmation. 

In previous committee hearings, Osmeña raised doubts about the veracity of Paje’s report on his department’s reforestation program and alleged illegal mining operations under his watch. – Rappler.com

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