Blockbuster

In the end – I suspect – the reason the Cayetano-led Senate majority denied the chamber a quorum was to prevent any derailment to the Blue Ribbon committee hearing scheduled for this morning.

Convening the chamber opens the door to all sorts of dilatory tactics that might be employed to prevent the hearing from happening. There is enough distrust among the senators to prevent this door from opening.

After this week, the Senate adjourns sine die. The clock runs out on whatever plans may have been laid to oust the current majority.

Today’s Blue Ribbon hearing threatens to surface new evidence related to the staggering public works scandal that shook the nation. It will provide a forum for narratives that some claim the previous hearings suppressed.

The list of invited resource persons says it all. It includes former speaker Martin Romualdez and the 18 former Marines who claim they were ordered to deliver hundreds of millions of cash to the homes and offices of powerful people.

The tactic of the Senate majority blindsided the chamber’s minority. They were left trying to convince the majority to convene sessions so that the taxpayer money paid the legislators does not go to waste. This argument overlooks the fact that the chamber’s work – such as convening the Blue Ribbon committee – continues even if a plenary session is not held.

It was the minority, after all, that walked out last week when the chamber was last in session and while deliberations were in progress. The walkout denied the chamber a quorum and shut down proceedings. The majority dished out the same tactic. The minority hates the taste of their own medicine.

The majority senators claim their tactic of quorum-denial was meant to conserve the chamber’s independence. It is easy to imagine how much political pressure now bears on every senator. There are larger, more powerful interests invested in who controls this chamber.

After today’s Blue Ribbon session, however, there may be less at stake in who controls this chamber. When the new facts are entered into the record, a cover-up becomes less viable.

The expectation is that today’s Blue Ribbon hearing will be explosive. If it lives up to this billing, all the tactics employed to prevent a plenary session could be more justifiable. When truly earthshaking facts are unveiled, all the maneuverings to control the chamber might become a little more comprehensible.

The Senate majority’s standing in the public eye might yet improve depending on what happens in today’s hearings. Recall the earlier testimony of one former Marine about the delivery of bags of cash. This testimony was somehow swept under the rug on the technicality that the witness’ statement was improperly notarized – even as it was repeated under oath during a hearing.

I have cleared my schedules to witness this hearing. It could be the start of a major dissembling.

Illegal

About half of President Marcos Jr.’s Cabinet occupy their posts in an “acting” capacity. This is because the Office of the President has not bothered to do the paperwork to have their appointments confirmed by Commission on Appointments (CA).

There may be more than benign neglect here. A few “acting” Cabinet members are seen as seat warmers waiting for the losing candidates in last year’s elections to complete the one-year ban on holding appointive positions.

But while half the Cabinet are there on an “acting” capacity, limiting the range of their decision-making, the Office of the President appears unduly active in appointing officials to posts that are already occupied.

Take the curious case of Masideng Marohombsar Salic.

Salic was appointed Commissioner of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) by way of an appointment paper issued by the President of the Republic last March 25, 2026. He replaced Guiling A. Mamondiong, whose term had expired. Salic’s term expires on March 7, 2030 – consistent with the terms of office provided by law.

Documents show Salic accepted the appointment and took his Oath of Office as Commissioner on April 8, 2026. The NCMF issued a Certification of Assumption to Duty signed by the NCMF secretary.

The facts are clear. A presidential appointment was made to fill a vacant position. The appointment specified the office, the term and the predecessor. The appointee accepted and qualified for the position by taking an oath. The agency certified that the appointee had assumed the responsibilities and duties of the position.

Something changed shortly thereafter. Another appointee was named to the same post even as there was no vacancy. Under the law creating the NCMF, commissioners serve a fixed term. They may be removed only after expiration of their term – except for cause and after due process.

Having assumed his post, Salic could only be replaced by end of tenure or for cause established through due process. His appointment could not be revoked, withdrawn, cancelled or replaced arbitrarily. His post is obviously not vacant – a condition for considering another appointee.

Appointment to a tenured post is more than a piece of paper. It is a process including the existence of a vacancy, the act of an appointing authority and the appointee’s acceptance of the post. The Supreme Court has ruled, in a similar case, that once an appointment has taken effect it could not be withdrawn except for cause and by due process. Once qualified, an appointee acquires a legal right to the office.