CA approves Cacdac’s ad interim appointment

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Appointments (CA) yesterday approved Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac’s ad interim appointment, as members dismissed the opposition as baseless and unfounded.

Some members of the CA, chaired by Senate President Francis Escudero, believe that Cacdac deserved the position as he is a lawyer and his parents are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Cacdac, 56, was undersecretary and officer-in-charge of the Department of Migrant Workers before he was tapped by Malacañang as DMW chief.

“There is no more reason to hear the oppositors. I have reviewed complaints and I have the opinion that the complaints are baseless and unfounded,” Surigao del Sur 2nd District Rep. Johnny Pimentel said on Monday.

“Most of the allegations are general, no specifics. A complaint was about quarantine regulations during the pandemic. It was about an additional quarantine of 14 to 30 days. This decision was not made by Sec. Cacdac but by the national government,” he added.

Pimentel recalled another complaint about the cyberattack on DMW’s systems and the expired visa of OFWs in Russia.

“It is very easy to accuse a person of malfeasance but to prove it is another matter. Sec. Cacdac did not commit any specific malfeasance,” Pimentel said.

Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada expressed their support for Cacdac.