QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — The Commission on Appointments cannot be investigated by the Senate and the House of Representatives, two senators who are members of the CA said amid calls to probe the powerful body.
According to Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto and Senator Panfilo Lacson, the Commission on Appointments (CA) is an independent constitutional body and therefore could not be investigated by the houses of Congress.
“Not by the House, not by the Senate, but by the CA because we’ll have a problem of jurisdiction,” Lacson in an interview said.
The statement came as some lawmakers sought the investigation of the CA after President Rodrigo Duterte’s remarks that “lobby money” may have been involved in the rejection of the confirmation of Gina Lopez as Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary.
Magdalo party-list representative Gary Alejano said that he planned to pass a resolution that aims to investigate the CA.
Several senators also wanted to change some of the rules of the CA, particularly the rule on secret voting.