The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor does not fall under the list of presidential appointments requiring the confirmation by the Commission on Appointments under the Constitution, Malacañang said yesterday.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo made the argument to assert that the latest appointment of BSP Gov. Benjamin Diokno does not need to get the nod of the CA, invoking the Constitution and relevant laws.
“After further evaluation of relevant laws and jurisprudence surrounding the appointment of former Secretary of Budget and Management Benjamin E. Diokno as the new governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, it is the position of the Palace that the said appointment need not be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments,” Panelo said.
Under Article 7, Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution, he said the presidential appointments requiring the nod of the CA cover the heads of the Executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, officers of the Armed Forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers whose appointments are vested in the President under the Constitution, such as commissioners of constitutional commissions.
“A perusal thereof reveals that the governor of the BSP does not fall under any of the categories of officials,” Panelo said.
He also said in the case of Calderon vs. Carale, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress cannot amend the provisions of the Constitution by mere legislation.
He said the court “ruled in the negative” when petitioners asked “whether or not Congress may, by law, require confirmation by the Commission on Appointments of appointments extended by the President to government officers additional to those expressly mentioned in the first sentence of Section 16, Article 7 of the Constitution.”
Panelo also mentioned that then BSP Gov. Gabriel Singson did not undergo a confirmation process with the CA after the SC dismissed a case questioning his appointment. (Genalyn Kabiling)
