SEN. Imee Marcos questioned the confirmation of the ad interim appointment of five senior military officers by the Commission on Appointments (CA).
During the special session on June 17 called by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the CA approved the promotion of Lt. Gen. Edmundo Peralta, Vice Admiral Alan Javier, Maj. Gen. Isagani Crispe, Brig. Gen. Niceforo Diaz Jr., and Brig. Gen. Rosemawatte Remo.
On the same day, Marcos wrote a letter to CA Secretary Myra Marie Villarica raising some legal concerns on the ad interim appointment of the five senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Marcos said that with the adjournment of the session on June 3, the ad interim appointments of the five officers "ceased to be effective, pursuant to Section 16, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution."
"Thus, in order for the Commission on Apointments to confirm the appointment of said officers, they should have been reappointed first," the senator said.
However, she said Republic Act 11939 requires that "an officer must have at least one year of remaining active service prior to compulsory retirement to be eligible for appointment or promotion to certain positions.""The earliest day that the above-named officers could have been re-appointed was upon the adjournment of the session on June 3," Marcos said.
"Unfortunately, as shown above, even if said officers were re-appointed on the same day their appointments were by-passed, they can still no longer comply with the requirement of Section 1 RA 11939 since, at that point, they have less than one year of active service remaining prior to reaching the compulsory retirement age [of 57]," she said.Crispe turned 56 on April 21, Remo on April 24, Diaz on May 5, Peralta on May 14, and Javier on May 16. Javier and Crispe received their ad interim appointment on April 14, Remo on April 23, and Peralta and Diaz on April 30.Marcos asked whether the CA "possesses records or documents showing the basis for finding the appointees qualified and eligible notwithstanding the statutory prohibition.""Although these issues were raised by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, we deem it necessary to reiterate the same given their importance and effect on future promotions within the Armed Forces of the Philippines," she added.
