Commission on Appointments confirms Abad, 4 envoys

MANILA, Philippines -  The Commission on Appointments (CA) confirmed the appointment of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and that of four ambassadors yesterday, but deferred that of Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes.                               

Only one lawmaker opposed Abad’s confirmation, but the commission chaired by Sen. Franklin Drilon immediately dismissed this.

Abad, Drilon, and CA member Sen. Ralph Recto are all members of the ruling Liberal Party.  

Raised during the hearing were concerns about the diversion of funds by ranking military officers. 

Abad told the CA that the national government will now only release personnel services (PS) allotments for filled positions. For 2011, P8.602 billion has been shielded from diversion.

“As the President has so committed, I commit that the executive will not whimsically exercise its power over the disbursement of funds. Nobody will be deprived of their rightful share in the budget because of political grounds,” Abad said.

During the committee hearings on the plea bargaining of former military comptroller Carlos Garcia, ex-military budget officer George Rabusa claimed that a portion of the PS funds in the budget of the military was diverted to a slush fund.

Rabusa said they were able to divert the funds because the disbursements of the Department of Budget and Management were based on the troop ceiling declared by the Armed Forces. 

The troop ceiling is always higher than the actual number of military troops, so there is a significant amount in savings that the officers use for other purposes.

While Abad’s appointment was confirmed, the CA deferred the confirmation of De los Reyes’ appointment pending the provision of documents requested by Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino.

Confirmed in their positions were Ambassadors Jose Cuisia Jr. (United States), Bienvenido Tejano (Papua New Guinea), Nestor Ochoa (Brunei Darussalam), and Evelyn Austria-Garcia (Czech Republic).

Also confirmed by the CA were the appointments of foreign affairs officials Reynaldo Catapang (chief of mission I), Adelio Angelito Cruz (career minister), and Raul Dado (foreign service officer I).                                                           

The appointment of Francisco Benedicto as ambassador to China was not examined in the session because he begged off from attending due to health concerns.