North Luzon solons back confirmation of DAR chief

A powerful bloc of cross-party congressmen at the House of Representatives has expressed confidence Agrarian Reform Secretary Hernani Braganza will be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments (CA).

Bipartisan support has been mustered in both houses of Congress, the alliance said.

Leaders of the Northern Alliance, a bloc of legislators from Northern Luzon, have been quietly campaigning for speedy CA hearings and an early confirmation of Braganza’s appointment.

The alliance first emerged during the first stint of Speaker Jose de Venecia in the House of Representatives as he successfully whipped up a rainbow coalition to clinch urgent economic reforms pushed by the Ramos administration.

It played a pivotal role in getting the priority economic policy reforms passed by Congress during the Ramos administration and in the movement to impeach former President Joseph Estrada. Braganza, as a sophomore congressman, was at the center of the impeachment movement at the House.

The CA, on the other hand, is made up of a select group of congressmen and senators tasked with confirming or rejecting the appointment of members of an incumbent administration’s Cabinet and presidential appointees to top posts in the military and police forces.

"Secretary Braganza was an active member of the alliance during the past two administrations. I am not surprised if the bloc is playing a leading role in the campaign for his confirmation as DAR chief," Congressman Amado Espino of Pangasinan observed. Espino retired as regional police director of Ilocos before he threw his hat in politics.

Espino intimated that members of the CA from the House of Representatives have closed ranks behind Braganza. Several commission members from the Senate, including those from the opposition, have likewise made commitments to back Braganza up.

"They witnessed Braganza work hard as a legislator and later, as a fiscalizer in Congress. They have again seen him do a good job in only a few months at helm of the agrarian reform department. They like what they saw," Espino said.