Senate elects nine out of 12 CA members amid dispute

Metro Manila, Philippines - The Senate has elected nine members to the Commission on Appointments (CA), a powerful constitutional body that confirms or rejects presidential appointees, but three seats remain vacant over a dispute on minority bloc representation.

The following were elected in the Senate plenary on Monday, Aug. 18:

Bato dela Rosa

JV Ejercito

Jinggoy Estrada

Bong Go

Rodante Marcoleta

Imee Marcos

Raffy Tulfo

Joel Villanueva

Mark Villar

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano temporarily withdrew his nomination after Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III questioned the process of electing 10 members, saying the composition should be based on political party representation rather than an 80-20 majority-minority sharing cited by Majority Leader Joel Villanueva based on a Supreme Court decision.

Sotto argued that based on party representation, the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) should have three members in the CA, the Nacionalista Party 2.5, and Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP), 1.5.

“And then the rest are single members of each party and therefore they can talk to the other members so their point five will be a total of one for each representation,” Sotto explained.

He expressed dismay that the election was suddenly pushed through despite ongoing discussions between the majority and minority blocs to resolve the matter.

He said the minority bloc expected “better treatment.”

“We can make it harder for you if this is what you want,” Sotto warned.

“Konting pakisamahan naman dito,” he added.

Deputy Minority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri echoed Sotto’s sentiments, saying the minority bloc should be allotted at least 2.5 seats in the CA. He suggested that a minority senator could share a term with a majority colleague if necessary.

“Point five na nga lang tatanggalin niyo pa at bibigay niyo pa sa iba. Papayag kami na may kahati kami sa majority yung minority sana pagbigyan na makaupo rin whether first half or second half of the 20th Congress,” Zubiri said.

Sotto withdrew his objection after Cayetano’s temporary withdrawal of his nomination. Senate President Chiz Escudero stressed that a consensus must be reached within the week, since the CA must be constituted by Aug. 27 according to law.

The Constitution states the CA must be composed of the Senate president as ex-officio chairman, 12 senators, and 12 members of the House of Representatives, “elected by each House on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties and parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented therein.”