More Cabinet men, envoys to face CA next week

Four members of President Duterte’s Cabinet and five new ambassadors are up for confirmation before the Commission on Appointments (CA) next week.

The CA has been busy going through various nominations and appointments of the President since it completed its organization a month ago.

On Tuesday, the CA will take up the appointments of Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr., Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Information and Communications Technology Secretary Rodolfo Salalima.

Also scheduled for confirmation are Philippine ambassador to Malaysia Charles Jose; Philippe Lhuillier, ambassador to Spain with concurrent jurisdiction over Andorra; Antonio Manuel Revilla Lagdameo, United Kingdom; James Lao, Brunei; and Alan Timbayan, Qatar.

Last Wednesday, the CA confirmed the appointments of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar.

The confirmation hearings on Tuesday will be the last for the month because Congress will be going on a two-week break starting Oct. 22.

So far, all of the nominees and appointees of the President, including the senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, were confirmed without much fanfare as the members of Congress are now predominantly allied with the Duterte administration.

Almost all of the nominations of the members of the President’s Cabinet were submitted to the CA.