319 appointees up for confirmation
The head of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) is on top of the list of 319 presidential appointees whose designations would be scrutinized by the Commission on Appointments (CA) before Congress adjourns this week.
CA Assistant Minority Leader Johnny Pimentel, of Surigao del Sur, on Sunday said besides PhilSA Director General Joel Joseph Marciano Jr., there are “318 other officials pending confirmation as of Jan. 27.”
The 25-member CA is made up of 12 members each from the House of Representatives and the Senate with the Senate President serving as ex-officio presiding officer. It is empowered to vet the competence, fitness and integrity of key presidential appointees and to approve or reject them.
Congress is set to adjourn on Feb. 8 and will not resume session until June 2.
Marciano, a professor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, was named PhilSA chief with rank of cabinet secretary by President Marcos on Jan 10, 2025. PhilSA is the agency created in 2019 to plan, develop and promote the national space program.
Pimentel added also among the 319 presidential appointees awaiting confirmation were 289 senior military officers, including 36 generals, and ten ambassadors.
The lawmaker mentioned Maj. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, who has been promoted to lieutenant general (three stars), among those awaiting confirmation of their promotion.
Nafarrete is the commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ unified Western Mindanao Command, which has jurisdiction over the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Zamboanga Peninsula and Northern Mindanao.
Pimentel added the ten ambassadors awaiting CA confirmation of their nominations include: Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga, as ambassador to Canada; Christopher Montero, to Indonesia; Aileen Mendiola-Rau, to Israel; Roberto Manalo, as nonresident envoy to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as ambassador to Iran, with concurrent jurisdiction over Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan; and Domingo Nolasco, as nonresident ambassador to Estonia and envoy to Finland.
