The bicameral Commission on Appointments (CA) appears to be helpless in forcing the Executive branch to automatically withdraw the appointments of its nominees after they have been bypassed three times by the constitutional body.

This was admitted by Sen. Rodolfo G. Biazon, chairman of the Senate national defense and security committee, citing several nominees appointed every time their appointment papers are bypassed by the 25-member CA.

A case in point is Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes who was re-appointed by Malacañang every time the CA bypassed him since he was appointed as Energy chief since July, 2007.

“This situation speaks of Malacañang’s culture of ignoring policies of institutions and institutional processes,’’ Biazon said.

Rep. Rodolfo Plaza, a CA member, said Reyes’ constant re-appointment by Malacañang “shows their (Malacañang’s) mockery of the Commission.’’

Plaza also chided the CA for not adopting his proposal to automatically rejected any nominees by-passed three times under the so-called “three strikes policy.’’

The CA held its last plenary session last week where it bypassed Reyes’ appointment but confirmed the appointments of former Health Secretary Francisco Duque III as the new Civil Service Commission (CSC) chairman; retired Supreme Court Justice Regino C. Hermosisima, as a  member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) representing the retired justices of the Supreme Court; and Evelyn R. San Buenaventura, as new Commission on Audit (CA) chairman.

The CA also confirmed 171 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officers composed of 39 generals and 132 colonels, seven ambassadors and two chiefs of missions of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile had said CA members that the privilege of blocking the confirmation of an appointee through the invocation of section 20 could no longer be invoked as their session last Feb. 3 was their last plenary session.

Enrile said the President is banned from appointing “two months before the election and all the way to the end of her term’’ which falls on June 30. Within this period is the resumption of Congress’s regular session from May 31 to June 4.