Bill seeks to limit reappointment of by-passed officials

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has filed a bill that seeks to limit the number of times the President can reappoint an official who has been by-passed by the Commission on Appointments (CA). Senate Bill 2499, or the Appointee Ineligibility Act, seeks to declare nominees by-passed by the CA for three consecutive times as “ineligible" for reappointment by the same President to any of the positions provided under the Constitution. Santiago defines a by-passed nominee as someone whose appointment was not been “favorably acted" upon by the CA at the close of the session of Congress. “This Act seeks to apply the system of check and balance between the legislative and the executive in the determination of the qualification and fitness of any presidential nominee seeking confirmation," said Santiago in her bill. Article 7, Section 16 of the Philippine Constitution says that the President can nominate and, with the consent of the CA, appoint 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. Article 6, Section 18 of the Constitution likewise says that the CA shall act on all appointments submitted to it within 30 session days of the Congress from their submission. SB 2499 was originally filed by President Benigno Aquino III during the Fourteenth Congress when he was still a senator. Earlier, the CA deferred the confirmation of Aquino's appointments for until Congress assumes session in November. The CA is composed of the Senate president as its head and 12 senators and 12 congressmen as its members. It is constitutionally mandated to confirm all appointments made by the President except those of the Ombudsman and Supreme Court justices. The CA discusses and deliberates on nominations at the standing committee level and at the plenary session. Nominations or appointments may end up being confirmed, rejected or bypassed. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMANews.TV