CA OKs appointments of 3 new envoys, bypasses 1

The Commission on Appointments on Wednesday bypassed the appointment of Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco as ambassador to Italy due to the opposition of Senate Pro Tempore Jose 'Jinggoy' Estrada. The powerful body, however, confirmed the appointments of Francisco Benedicto as ambassador to China, Shulan Primavera to Kuwait, and Ronald Allarey to India and Nepal. Estrada said he still has many things to ask Cuenco, among them his qualifications. "He is the most inexperienced among the four," he said. Under Section 20 of the CA rules, even a single member can object to a nomination and cause the suspension of the proceedings for that nominee. During the deliberations of the CA committee on foreign affairs, former ambassador Victoria Bataclan, president of the Union of Foreign Service Officers, expressed opposition to the nominations of Cuenco and Benedicto for being non-career officers. She noted the proximity of their appointments to the 2010 elections, their ages, and the high cost of their transfer. Age matters Bataclan said both Cuenco and Benedicto are above the 65-year age limit cited in Section 23 of the Foreign Service Act, and that their transfer would cost the government some P10 million. "The said appointee would only be able to serve as ambassador for less than 180 days. Such very short duration in our view does not justify the additional expense for their deployment or transfer," Bataclan said in a letter earlier sent to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the chairman of the CA. Bataclan also said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo should prioritize the appointment of career officials “in the interest of maintaining the professionalization of the foreign service and ensuring continuity of service." Senators, however, did not give much wait on the issue of age, noting that past presidents had also appointed ambassadors above 65 years old. On the issue of expenses that will be incurred during the transfer of an ambassador, Benedicto said he would not cost much. "I left Manila for India with only two luggages [and] no container van. If confirmed, I will go to China with two luggages," he said. Benedicto was appointed by four successive Presidents to different foreign capitals: by President Corazon Aquino as Ambassador to Singapore; by President Fidel Ramos to Seoul and thereafter to Brasilia; by President Joseph Estrada to Ottawa; and by President Arroyo to New Delhi, and now to Beijing. Midnight appointments In a letter informing President Arroyo of the CA's decision to bypass Cuenco, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago called the attention of the President on "midnight" appointments. "If there are only six months left of an incumbent president's tenure, [appointing an ambassador] would be unnecessary expense because the new president will likely make his own political appointments," she said. The senator also said the Department of Foreign Affairs should not issue a request for agrement until after the nominee for ambassador has been confirmed by the CA. An agrement is the official approval by a government of a proposed envoy from a foreign government like the Philippines. - KBK, GMANews.TV