Dizon set for June CA appearance

THE Commission on Appointments (CA) would deliberate the nominations of the Transportation secretary and top officials of the country’s constitutional bodies when Congress resumes in June, a congressman said on Sunday.

Transportation Secretary Vivencio B. Dizon would face the CA on June 3, while four ad interim commissioners from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Commission on Audit (CoA) would appear before the body on June 4, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny T. Pimentel, an assistant minority leader of the body, said.

“The public is encouraged to submit to the CA secretariat any information, written reports, or sworn or notarized complaints regarding the appointees,” he said in a statement.

The CA is composed of 12 members each from the House of Representatives and the Senate, and has the authority to approve or reject presidential appointments.

The 19th Congress will reconvene on June 2 after a four-month break before adjourning again on June 14.

Mr. Dizon, 50, assumed his post as head of the Transportation department on Feb. 21 after his predecessor Jaime J. Bautista resigned due to health reasons. He served as presidential adviser on flagship programs and projects, as well as deputy chief implementer of the National Action Plan against COVID-19 during the Duterte administration.

In his nearly three months as Transportation secretary, he halted the rollout of a fully cashless toll collection system and again allowed jeepney drivers and operators to apply for consolidation under the government’s transport modernization program.

Meanwhile, the vetting body would also take up the appointments of Noli R. Pipo and Maria Norina S. Tangaro-Casingal as Comelec commissioners alongside Luis Meinrado C. Pañgulayan’s assignment as CSC commissioner and Douglas Michael N. Mallillin’s CoA commissioner posting. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio