‘My integrity remains intact,’ Taguiwalo says after CA rejection

Erstwhile DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo. (File photo by MARIANNE BERMUDEZ / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Despite being rejected by the Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday, outgoing Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said she was proud to say that she has served the people and that her “integrity remains intact.”

“I have served the people well. I gave my all and I am proud to say that my integrity remains intact and I have never wanted to lose sight of the people I have sworn to serve with full fidelity and courage,” Taguiwalo said in a press conference at the Senate shortly after the CA rejected her appointment.

READ: CA rejects Taguiwalo’s appointment

“Isang karangalan makapaglingkod sa bayan bilang DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) secretary kahit sa maikling panahon (It was an honor to serve the people as DSWD secretary even for just a short period of time),” she added.

Taguiwalo said she accepts the CA’s decision, explaining that she was “well aware” that her ad interim appointment was at the pleasure of President Rodrigo Duterte and subject to the confirmation body’s approval.

READ: Palace laments CA rejection of Taguiwalo, who ‘made an impact’ in DSWD

However, she stood firm that the CA’s decision did not reflect the views and aspirations of the people.

“Subalit sa ganang akin, naniniwala ako na hindi sinasalamin ng desisyon ng CA ang damdamin ng taong-bayan. Buo ang aking tiwala sa mamamayan at higit kanino man na sa kanila ako may pananagutan (However, on my part, I believe that the CA decision does not reflect the aspirations of the people. I fully trust the people, and more than anything else, I am accountable to them),” she said.

The powerful Commission reached 13 votes to reject Taguiwalo’s appointment. However, it did not disclose to the plenary how its members voted.

Taguiwalo, a long-time activist and professor, was one of the three Cabinet members nominated by the Communist Party of the Philippines. She, however, denied links to the group, which has been waging war in the countryside for almost 50 years.

Last year, she earned the ire of some lawmakers for issuing a circular seeking to stop the practice of congressmen getting favored projects in the DSWD. IDL