By Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star) Updated December 16, 2010
MANILA, Philippines - On the last session day of Congress for the year, the Commission on Appointments (CA) confirmed the appointments of four members of President Aquino’s Cabinet.
The CA yesterday gave its nod to Education Secretary Armin Luistro, Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson and Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, the first batch of the President’s appointees to go through the confirmation process.
The confirmation of the appointment of Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras was deferred until January.
The deferment came as a surprise considering that no issues were raised against him during his first appearance before the CA last Dec. 1.
The confirmation of his appointment was blocked by Iloilo fourth district Rep. Ferjenel Biron.
Malacañang, however, expressed confidence that Almendras will eventually be confirmed.
“We are confident that Secretary Almendras will be able, again, to answer all the concerns that are raised by the Commission on Appointments and that he will eventually get his confirmation from the commission,” said Undersecretary Abigail Valte.
She said the deferment of Almendras’ confirmation does not affect Aquino’s confidence in him.
A source disclosed that Almendras, who has firm knowledge in the power sector, has rejected several multimillion-peso energy projects that he discovered to be disadvantageous to the government.
The repeated deferment of his confirmation, however, has left him thinking of quitting his post.
The confirmation process was easier for Alcala and Singson.
Before the plenary session of the CA yesterday, Singson and Alcala went through their respective confirmation hearings.
Singson breezed through his confirmation hearing that lasted only 20 minutes.
Sen. Edgardo Angara described him as a patriot. Even former public works secretary Simeon Datumanong, a member of the minority bloc of the House of Representatives, said he was impressed by Singson’s background.
Alcala’s confirmation hearing would have been just as smooth had it not been for the opposition of businessman Selwyn Lao and engineer Marlon Teñana.
Lao accused Alcala of violating the bylaws of Planters Products Inc. by designating a non-board member as president of the company. He was admonished by CA members for bringing up an issue that should be settled in courts.
Teñana, an engineer based in Las Vegas, alleged that Alcala and his family took P2.5 million from him to purchase a property in Lucena. He, too, was rebuked by legislators.
After the confirmation of their appointments, the four Cabinet members pledged to fulfill their duties as public servants.
Six million tourists
Now that his appointment is confirmed, Lim wants to lure six million travelers to the country during his term.
“Our goal is to reach six million arrivals and $4.6 billion in tourist receipts and creating three million new jobs. The Department of Tourism (DOT) will be working very closely with other government agencies, local government units, the private tourism sector, the local communities, academe, and media in achieving these goals. After all, tourism is everybody’s business,” he said.
Legislators, members of the tourism industry as well as DOT officials welcomed Lim’s confirmation.
Rep. Rex Gatchalian, chairman of the CA Committee on Tourism and Economic Development, said Lim is the right man for the job because of his 20 years’ experience in the tourism industry.
“He is actually the first tourism secretary who has had extensive tourism private sector experience. This is definitely a plus because he can see what needs to be done from the perspective of the private sector,” Gatchalian said.
Lim promised to improve tourism infrastructure and ensure the security of tourists through the deployment of more police personnel engaged in tourist protection. - With Mayen Jaymalin, Delon Porcalla
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