Solon: Santiago can no longer stop Soliman’s confirmation

By: Maila Ager - 10 years ago

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Miriam Defensor- Santiago can no longer block the confirmation of Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman after the Commission on Appointments (CA) decided to set the plenary deliberation next week.

Santiago, in a letter Tuesday to ABONO Partylist Representative Conrado Estrella III, head of the House of Representatives’ contingent to the CA, informed the body that she would block Soliman’s confirmation by invoking Section 30 of the rules.

But Estrella said the senator can no longer invoke her veto power after the CAs committee on labor, employment, and welfare recommended Soliman’s confirmation for plenary approval on June 11, 2014, the last plenary session before Congress adjourns sine die.

Under the rules, Estrella said, a member cannot invoke his veto power or Section 20 during the sine die plenary session.

“No, unfortunately she cannot invoke Section 20 in a sine die plenary session,” he told reporters after the hearing.

Estrella said the CA schedule this Wednesday afternoon was already full that it could no longer accommodate Soliman’s confirmation.

But he was quick to deny that the decision to schedule Soliman’s confirmation next week was planned to stop any member from invoking Section 20.

In fact, he said, the committee was not even sure that Soliman would be recommended for confirmation this Wednesday.

Asked if there were options left for Santiago, Estrella said: “There are other options, like she can talk to her senator colleagues and some of her colleagues in Congress kung maka-muster s’ya ng majority then she can still do something about it. ‘Yun ‘yung ultimate remedy n’ya na nakikita ko.”