For 1st session of 19th Congress

THE bicameral Commission on Appointments (CA) has confirmed a total of 597 presidential nominations and ad interim appointments in the first regular session of the 19th Congress, Surigao del Sur Representative Johnny Pimentel, CA assistant minority leader, reported on Monday.

“All told, the CA gave its consent to the appointments of 21 Cabinet secretaries, five constitutional commissioners, 119 foreign service officers, 451 military officers, and a member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC),” Pimentel said.

Malacañang on Sunday bared a fresh batch of presidential appointees that included Mersole Mellejor, as Ambassador to Nigeria, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon, and Raquel Solano, as Chief of Mission, Class II.

The appointments of the two diplomats will be sent to the CA for screening and confirmation.

With respect to Cabinet secretaries, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., up to now, has not designated permanent, full-time heads for the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Health (DOH), and the Department of National Defense (DND).

The President concurrently heads the DA, while Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire and Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. serve as officers-in-charge (OICs) of the DOH and the DND, respectively.

President Marcos Jr., however, previously said he plans to “reorganize” his Cabinet soon, as he intends to designate new members that may include individuals who lost in the last elections following the lapse of the 12-month ban on their appointment.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the following presidential appointees are subject to CA confirmation:

· Heads of executive departments

· Ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls

· Officers of the Armed Forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain

· Regular members of the JBC

· Chairpersons and commissioners of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Commission on Elections (Comelec), and the Commission on Audit (CoA).