Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) Director General Joel Joseph Marciano Jr. leads the list of 319 presidential appointees awaiting confirmation from the Commission on Appointments (CA) before Congress adjourns later this week.
“Besides Director General Marciano, there are 318 other officials pending confirmation as of January 27,” Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, CA assistant minority leader, said in a statement on Sunday.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Marciano as PhilSA chief with the rank of Cabinet Secretary on January 10.
PhilSA is the agency established by law to plan, develop, and promote the national space program.
Under the Constitution, the 25-member CA is empowered to vet the competence, fitness, and integrity of key presidential appointees and to approve or reject them.
Marciano is a professor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.
The 2019 law that created PhilSA requires the agency head to be confirmed by the CA, according to Pimentel.
Pimentel added that 289 senior military officers, including 36 generals, are also awaiting confirmation of their rank promotions.
They are led by Maj. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, who has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant general (three stars).
Nafarrete is the new commander of the military’s unified Western Mindanao Command, which oversees the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Northern Mindanao.
Pimentel also mentioned that 10 ambassadors are awaiting confirmation of their nominations. He named them as:
- Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga, as Ambassador to Canada
- Christopher Montero, as Ambassador to Indonesia
- Aileen Mendiola-Rau, as Ambassador to Israel
- Roberto Manalo, as Non-Resident Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, in addition to being Ambassador to Iran, with concurrent jurisdiction over Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
- Domingo Nolasco, as Non-Resident Ambassador to Estonia, in addition to being Ambassador to Finland
- Maria Elena Algabre, as Ambassador to Hungary, with concurrent jurisdiction over Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia
- Patrick Chuasoto, as Ambassador to Sweden, with concurrent jurisdiction over Latvia
- Eduardo Jose De Vega, as Ambassador to France, with concurrent jurisdiction over Monaco
- Elizabeth Te, as Ambassador to Lao
- Marie Charlotte Tang, as Non-Resident Ambassador to Ethiopia, in addition to being Ambassador to Kenya, with concurrent jurisdiction over 11 other African countries
Under the Constitution, the 25-member CA is empowered to vet the competence, fitness, and integrity of key presidential appointees and to approve or reject them.
The CA is composed of 12 members each from the House of Representatives and the Senate, with the Senate President serving as ex-officio presiding officer.
Congress is set to adjourn on Feb. 8 and will not resume session until June 2.
