Senate Deputy Minority Leader Rodante Marcoleta on Wednesday raised concern over why the Commission on Appointments (CA) has yet to receive appointment letters for at least eight acting Cabinet secretaries.
In his privilege speech, Marcoleta stressed that the 1987 Constitution requires the President to nominate or appoint heads of executive departments and submit their appointments to the CA for confirmation.
“Hindi ito nga maliit o basta-bastang ahensya, Mr. President. These are core institutions of our government. They control our money, they enforce our laws, they build our infrastructure, they defend sovereignty, and they speak for the President and the Republic,” Marcoleta said.
He noted that the Office of the Executive Secretary, Department of Finance, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Justice, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, and the Presidential Communications Office are still being led by acting secretaries who have not undergone CA scrutiny.
“They are alter egos of the President. Nevertheless, they are run by officials whose appointments or nominations have never been submitted to the commission on appointments for confirmation,” he added.
Marcoleta clarified that while acting secretaries are not illegal, prolonged reliance on them undermines constitutional safeguards.
“There is nothing inherently illegal about an acting secretary. The law allows it; the continuity of the government demands it. But what is dangerous is when acting becomes permanent by design,” he said.
He warned that withholding appointments effectively creates “de facto permanent secretaries” and weakens accountability.
“Why are the key Cabinet members allowed to exercise full powers of their offices while never being presented before the CA for scrutiny? … This turns temporary designations into a tool of permanent power,” Marcoleta said.
The senator emphasized that the CA’s role is to ensure appointees are “fit, competent, and worthy of public trust,” and that bypassing confirmation sends the wrong signal to the bureaucracy.