The Commission on Appointments (, abbreviated as CA) is a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

al body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the

President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...

. The current commission was created by the

1987 Constitution The Constitution of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'') is the supreme law of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Constitutional Commission on October 12, 1986, and rat ...

. While often associated with the

Congress of the Philippines The Congress of the Philippines () is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of an upper body, the Senate of the Philippines, Senate, and a lower body, the House of Representatives ...

, which consists of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and mistakenly referred to as a congressional committee, the Commission on Appointments is an independent body from the legislature, though its membership is confined to members of Congress.

Background

The Commission on Appointments confirms certain appointments made by the

. Article VII, Section 16 of the

reads:

"The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, or officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers whose appointments are vested in him in this Constitution. He shall also appoint all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint. The Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of other officers lower in rank in the President alone, in the courts, or in the heads of departments, agencies, commissions, or boards.

The

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

is exempted from a confirmation hearing to any cabinet position.1987 Constitution of the Philippines, art. 7, sec. 3 The nomination of a person to the vice presidency due to a vacancy is handled by both houses of Congress, voting separately. During the operation of the Jones Law, the

confirmed the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

's appointments. During the operation of the 1935 Constitution, the commission was composed of 21 members of the

National Assembly of the Philippines The National Assembly of the Philippines (, ) refers to the legislature of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1941, and of the Second Philippine Republic during the Japanese occupation. The National Assembly of the Commonwealth w ...

. With the restoration of the bicameral

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in 1940, the commission was composed of 12 senators and 12 representatives with the Senate President as the ex officio chairman. During the operation of the 1973 Constitution, the president appointed at will and without "checks and balances" from the then-

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. The current constitution, which was ratified in 1987, brought back the 25-member commission.

Officials confirmed

#Heads of Executive Departments #

Ambassadors An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

, other Public Ministers and Consuls #High Ranking Officers of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

from the rank of Colonel or Naval Captain #Regular Members of the

Judicial and Bar Council The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC; ) of the Philippines is a Constitution of the Philippines, constitutionally-created body that recommends appointees for vacancies that may arise in the composition of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Supr ...

#Chairman and Commissioners of the

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission (also known as a Public Service Commission) is a government agency or public body that is established by the constitution, or by the legislature, to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, overse ...

#Chairman and Commissioners of the

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

#Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Audit The appointments of all judges and the

Ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

need not be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. Instead, they are recommended by the

in a short list, from which the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

shall then choose from. Prior to the institutionalization of the party-list system, the president appointed the sectoral representatives. Congress then decided to have these confirmed via the commission, as well.

Under the 1935 Constitution

# Heads of the executive departments and bureaus # Officers of the Army from the rank of colonel, of the Navy and air forces from the rank of captain or commander # All other officers of the Government whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint # Ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls # Members of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and all judges of inferior courts # The Resident Commissioner of the Philippines (until 1946)

Composition

The commission is composed of the Senate President, the ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' chairman, twelve senators, and twelve members of the House of Representatives. Members from each house of Congress are elected based on proportional representation from the political parties and parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented. The Chairman of the Commission shall vote only in case of a tie. It shall act on all appointments submitted within thirty session days of Congress. It shall be governed by a majority vote of all members.

Procedure

A president can either make a nomination or an appointment. Either action involves the commission. Most presidential actions are ''ad interim'' appointments, done when Congress is not in session. In these cases, the appointment allows the official to discharge the duties related to the office immediately. The ''ad interim'' appointment ceases to be valid if the commission explicitly rejects the appointment, or if the commission "bypasses" the appointment. If the commission rejects the appointment, the official is no longer allowed to discharge the duties related to his or her office, and the president has to appoint someone else. If the commission bypasses the official, the president can re-appoint that person. The president can also ''nominate'' an official if Congress is in session. In a "regular" nomination, the official can only discharge the duties once the commission consents to the appointment. Just as other legislative bodies, the commission is divided into different committees. Each appointment is coursed through the committee concerned. After hearings are held, the committee decides to confirm or reject the appointment; the commission ''

en banc In law, an ''en banc'' (; alternatively ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank''; ) session is when all the judges of a court sit to hear a case, not just one judge or a smaller panel of judges. For courts like the United States Courts of Appeal ...

'' then deliberates on whether to accept the committee's decision.

Meeting place

The commission meets at the GSIS Building in

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

, the seat of the Senate.

Current membership

These are the members for the

19th Congress of the Philippines The 19th Congress of the Philippines (), composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines, House of Representatives, met from July 25, 2022, until June 11, 2025, during the first three years of Bongbong Marcos's ...

: * Chairman:

Francis Escudero Francis Joseph "Chiz" Guevara Escudero (, born October 10, 1969) is a Filipino politician and lawyer who has served as the 25th president of the Senate of the Philippines since May 20, 2024. Escudero has served as a Senate of the Philippines, s ...

(''ex officio'' as Senate president) * Vice Chairman: Ramon Juico Jr. * Majority Floor Leader: Luis Raymund Villafuerte ** Assistant Majority Floor Leaders: *** Joel Villanueva * Minority Floor Leader: Alan Peter Cayetano ** Assistant Minority Floor Leaders: *** Jose Gay Padiernos *** Johnny Pimentel * Secretary: Myra Marie D. Villarica * Sergeant-at-Arms: Nicasio Javier Radovan Jr.

Rejection of appointment

Rejection by the commission of the president's appointment is very rare. Usually, due to the padrino system of patronage politics, the president's party controls a supermajority of votes in the House of Representatives, thus mirroring its composition of the commission. This means appointments are almost always are approved, although some are not without difficulty. In ''Bautista vs. Salonga'', the

ruled that the positions within the Commission on Human Rights are not one of the positions confirmed by the Commission on Appointments, invalidating Bautista's rejection.

Committees

The commission has several committees:

References

External links

* {{Philippine House of Representatives Congress of the Philippines 1935 establishments in the Philippines 1987 establishments in the Philippines Appointments