# Commission on Appointments

The Commission on Appointments (Filipino: Komisyon sa Paghirang, abbreviated as CA) is a constitutional body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the President of the Philippines. The current commission was created by the 1987 Constitution.
While often associated with the Congress of the Philippines, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and mistakenly referred to as a congressional committee, the Commission on Appointments is an independent body from the legislature, though its membership is confined to members of Congress.

## Background

The Commission on Appointments confirms certain appointments made by the President of the Philippines. Article VII, Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution reads:
   "The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, or officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers whose appointments are vested in him in this Constitution. He shall also appoint all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint. The Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of other officers lower in rank in the President alone, in the courts, or in the heads of departments, agencies, commissions, or boards.
The Vice President is exempted from a confirmation hearing to any cabinet position. The nomination of a person to the vice presidency due to a vacancy is handled by both houses of Congress, voting separately.
During the operation of the Jones Law, the Senate confirmed the Governor-General's appointments. During the operation of the 1935 Constitution, the commission was composed of 21 members of the National Assembly of the Philippines. With the restoration of the bicameral Congress in 1940, the commission was composed of 12 senators and 12 representatives with the Senate President as the ex officio chairman. During the operation of the 1973 Constitution, the president appointed at will and without "checks and balances" from the then-parliament. The current constitution, which was ratified in 1987, brought back the 25-member commission.

## Officials confirmed

* Heads of Executive Departments
* Ambassadors, other Public Ministers and Consuls
* High Ranking Officers of the Armed Forces from the rank of Colonel or Naval Captain
* Regular Members of the Judicial and Bar Council
* Chairman and Commissioners of the Civil Service Commission
* Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Elections
* Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Audit
The appointments of all judges and the Ombudsman need not be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. Instead, they are recommended by the Judicial and Bar Council in a short list, from which the President shall then choose from.
Prior to the institutionalization of the party-list system, the president appointed the sectoral representatives. Congress then decided to have these confirmed via the commission, as well.

### Under the 1935 Constitution

* Heads of the executive departments and bureaus
* Officers of the Army from the rank of colonel, of the Navy and air forces from the rank of captain or commander
* All other officers of the Government whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint
* Ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls
* Members of the Supreme Court and all judges of inferior courts
* The Resident Commissioner of the Philippines (until 1946)

## Composition

The commission is composed of the Senate President, the ex officio chairman, twelve senators, and twelve members of the House of Representatives. Members from each house of Congress are elected based on proportional representation from the political parties and parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented. The Chairman of the Commission shall vote only in case of a tie. It shall act on all appointments submitted within thirty session days of Congress. It shall be governed by a majority vote of all members.

## Procedure

A president can either make a nomination or an appointment. Either action involves the commission.
Most presidential actions are ad interim appointments, done when Congress is not in session. In these cases, the appointment allows the official to discharge the duties related to the office immediately. The ad interim appointment ceases to be valid if the commission explicitly rejects the appointment, or if the commission "bypasses" the appointment. If the commission rejects the appointment, the official is no longer allowed to discharge the duties related to his or her office, and the president has to appoint someone else. If the commission bypasses the official, the president can re-appoint that person.
The president can also nominate an official if Congress is in session. In a "regular" nomination, the official can only discharge the duties once the commission consents to the appointment.
Just as other legislative bodies, the commission is divided into different committees. Each appointment is coursed through the committee concerned. After hearings are held, the committee decides to confirm or reject the appointment; the commission en banc then deliberates on whether to accept the committee's decision.

## Meeting place

The commission meets at the GSIS Building in Pasay, the seat of the Senate.

## Current membership

These are the members for the 19th Congress of the Philippines:
* Chairman: Francis Escudero (ex officio as Senate president)
* Vice Chairman: Ramon Juico Jr.
* Majority Floor Leader: Luis Raymund Villafuerte
** Assistant Majority Floor Leaders:
*** Joel Villanueva
* Minority Floor Leader: Alan Peter Cayetano
** Assistant Minority Floor Leaders:
*** Jose Gay Padiernos
*** Johnny Pimentel
* Secretary: Myra Marie D. Villarica
* Sergeant-at-Arms: Nicasio Javier Radovan Jr.
| Member | Chamber | District | Party | Bloc |
| Ferjenel Biron | House of Representatives | Iloilo–4th | Nacionalista | Majority |
| Alan Peter Cayetano | Senate | At-large | Independent | Independent |
| Ronald dela Rosa | Senate | At-large | PDP | Majority |
| JV Ejercito | Senate | At-large | NPC | Majority |
| Francis Escudero | Senate | At-large | NPC | Majority |
| Albert Garcia | House of Representatives | Bataan–2nd | NUP | Majority |
| Greg Gasataya | House of Representatives | Bacolod | NPC | Majority |
| Bong Go | Senate | At-large | PDP | Majority |
| Ramon Guico Jr. | House of Representatives | Pangasinan–5th | Lakas | Majority |
| Risa Hontiveros | Senate | At-large | Akbayan | Minority |
| Virgilio Lacson | House of Representatives | Party-list | Manila Teachers | Majority |
| Loren Legarda | Senate | At-large | NPC | Majority |
| Oscar Malapitan | House of Representatives | Caloocan–1st | Nacionalista | Majority |
| Lani Mercado | House of Representatives | Cavite–2nd | Lakas | Majority |
| Jose Gay Padiernos | House of Representatives | Party-list | GP Party | Minority |
| Johnny Pimentel | House of Representatives | Surigao del Sur–2nd | NUP | Majority |
| Grace Poe | Senate | At-large | Independent | Majority |
| Bong Revilla | Senate | At-large | Lakas | Majority |
| Jurdin Jesus Romualdo | House of Representatives | Camiguin | Lakas | Majority |
| Manuel Sagarbarria | House of Representatives | Negros Oriental–2nd | NPC | Majority |
| Raffy Tulfo | Senate | At-large | Independent | Majority |
| Luis Raymund Villafuerte | House of Representatives | Camarines Sur–2nd | NUP | Majority |
| Joel Villanueva | Senate | At-large | Independent | Majority |
| Cynthia Villar | Senate | At-large | Nacionalista | Majority |
| Migz Zubiri | Senate | At-large | Independent | Majority |
Membership per party :
| Party | Party | Senate | House | Total | % |
| | NPC | 2+1 | 2 | 4+1 | 17%+1 |
| | Lakas | 1 | 2 | 4 | 17% |
| | Nacionalista | 1 | 2 | 3 | 13% |
| | NUP | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13% |
| | PDP | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13% |
| | Akbayan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4% |
| | GP Party | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4% |
| | Manila Teachers | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4% |
| | Independent | 5 | 0 | 5 | 21% |
| Total | Total | 12+1 | 12 | 24+1 | 100%+1 |
Membership per bloc :
| Bloc | Senate | House | Total | % |
| Majority | 10+1 | 11 | 21+1 | 92%+1 |
| Minority | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8% |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4% |
| Total | 12+1 | 12 | 24+1 | 100%+1 |
* 1 2 3 4 5 The Senate president only votes to break ties.

## Rejection of appointment

Rejection by the commission of the president's appointment is very rare. Usually, due to the padrino system of patronage politics, the president's party controls a supermajority of votes in the House of Representatives, thus mirroring its composition of the commission. This means appointments are almost always are approved, although some are not without difficulty.
List of rejection of nominees by the Commission on Appointments :
| Person chosen | Position | Year | Chosen by |
| Mary Concepcion Bautista | Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights | 1989 | Corazon Aquino |
| Ramon del Rosario | Secretary of Finance | 1993 | Fidel V. Ramos |
| Ricardo Saludo | Chairman of the Civil Service Commission | 2009 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
| Gina Lopez | Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources | 2017 | Rodrigo Duterte |
| Rafael V. Mariano | Secretary of Agrarian Reform | 2017 | Rodrigo Duterte |
| Judy Taguiwalo | Secretary of Social Welfare and Development | 2017 | Rodrigo Duterte |
| Paulyn Ubial | Secretary of Health | 2017 | Rodrigo Duterte |
| Michael Peloton | Commissioner of the Commission on Elections | 2021 | Rodrigo Duterte |
In Bautista vs. Salonga, the Supreme Court ruled that the positions within the Commission on Human Rights are not one of the positions confirmed by the Commission on Appointments, invalidating Bautista's rejection.

## Committees

The commission has several committees:
| Committee | Positions considered |
| Foreign Affairs | Secretary of Foreign Affairs Ambassadors Other public ministers and consuls |
| National Defense | Secretary of National Defense Officers of the Armed Forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain and above |
| Finance | Secretary of Finance |
| Budget and Management | Secretary of Budget and Management |
| Justice and Judicial and Bar Council | Secretary of Justice Regular members of the Judicial and Bar Council |
| Agriculture | Secretary of Agriculture |
| Public Works and Highways | Secretary of Public Works and Highways |
| Education | Secretary of Education |
| Labor, Employment, Social Welfare and Migrant Workers | Secretary of Labor and Employment Secretary of Social Welfare and Development Secretary of Migrant Workers |
| Health | Secretary of Health |
| Trade and Industry | Secretary of Trade and Industry |
| Tourism and Economic Development | Secretary of Tourism Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning |
| Environment and Natural Resources | Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources |
| Science and Technology | Secretary of Science and Technology |
| Interior and Local Government | Secretary of the Interior and Local Government |
| Constitutional Commissions and Offices | Members of the Civil Service Commission Members of the Commission on Audit Members of the Commission on Elections |
| Transportation | Secretary of Transportation |
| Agrarian Reforms | Secretary of Agrarian Reform |
| Executive Secretary and Presidential Communications Offices of the Office of the President and the Philippine Space Agency | Executive Secetary Secretary of the Presidential Communications Office Director-General of the Philippine Space Agency |
| Energy | Secretary of Energy |
| Accounts | none |
| Rules and Resolutions | none |
| Ethics | none |
| Information and Communications Technology | Secretary of Information and Communications Technology |
| Human Settlements and Urban Development | Secretary of Human Settlements and Urban Development |