Commission on Appointments rejects DSWD’s Taguiwalo

LAWMAKERS of the Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday, Aug. 16, rejected the appointment of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s Social Welfare secretary after more than a year in office, marking the fourth exit from Mr. Duterte’s Cabinet this year and the third on the CA’s watch.

Judy M. Taguiwalo, a left-wing activist who was jailed during the 1970s martial-law era of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, failed to acquire the 13 votes needed to get approval by the 24-member commission.

Ms. Taguiwalo’s appointment had been bypassed five times. It was not immediately clear why she was rejected, but speculation had been rife that her future was in doubt after the near-collapse of Mr. Duterte’s peace process with communist rebels, which was one of his top objectives when he took office.

Ms. Taguiwalo was nominated to the post by the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and Duterte hoped to show inclusivity and demonstrate his commitment to peace talks by giving two leftists Cabinet positions.

Ms. Taguiwalo suffered the same fate as former Foreign Affairs secretary Perfecto R. Yasay, who was found to have lied about holding US citizenship, and Environment and Natural Resources secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez, who was deemed unsuitable over her widespread suspensions and closures of mines.

Ismael D. Sueño was sacked by Mr. Duterte as interior and local government secretary over corruption allegations.

Ms. Taguiwalo is the third appointee of Mr. Duterte rejected by a legislative body otherwise dominated by his allies. Mr. Duterte has insisted he does not try to influence the commission, even though he has a legislative super majority.

“It is ironic that the allies of the administration rejected the President’s appointee,” the opposition Liberal Party said in a statement, which noted that all its four members in the Senate, including Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto, voted in favor of Ms. Taguiwalo’s confirmation.

In a speech endorsing Ms. Taguiwalo’s confirmation, Mr. Recto commended her academic credentials as well as her experience in the progressive movement dating back to the Marcos dictatorship.

“She is also an alumnae of three Martial Law prisons, went underground, and joined the resistance – only because legal pathways for change were blocked, and peaceful avenues to protest were closed,” the senator said.

“To those who would see this as impediment to a Cabinet post, here’s my rebuttal: Political imprisonment is no bar to public office and neither is the taking up of arms when conditions warrant,” Mr. Recto added.

“So if we would like to know her views about poverty, we can leaf through the forest of newsprint that contains her writings. But if we would like to know if she really cares about the poor, then her stints in factories, in farms and in forests are enough to dispel any doubt,” he also said.

“If she is an ideologue, then the ideology she subscribes to is the same one we believe in, and that ideology is to serve the people.”

Mr. Recto also noted Ms. Taguiwalo’s being an admirer of his grandfather, the late nationalist senator Claro M. Recto, and of his wife, actress and now congresswoman Vilma Santos-Recto.

“Don Claro would only have the deepest esteem for someone who did not only agree with his causes, but spent a lifetime fighting for it. And Vi would find in her, as she does, a real life character who looms larger than Sister Stella L, and who has more guts and grit than all the strong women she had played on the silver screen,” the senator said.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella expressed sadness at Ms. Taguiwalo’s rejection, saying she had impacted the lives of many Filipinos and served the Duterte administration with passion, professionalism and integrity.

Wednesday’s CA proceedings were also marked by the addition of new members, Senators Juan Edgardo M. Angara and Cynthia A. Villar. — main report by Reuters, with interaksyon.com