MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — Five appointees of President Rodrigo Duterte in 3 constitutional bodies on Wednesday failed to secure the nod of the Commission on Appointments (CA) to keep their posts for a fixed 7-year term until 2029.

• Kumpirmasyon ng ilang appointee ni Duterte nakabinbin pa rin

The ad-interim officials whose terms were effectively terminated include the following.

• * Saidamen Pangarungan, Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson
• * George Garcia, Comelec commissioner
• * Aimee Torrefranca Neri, Comelec commissioner
• * Karlo Nograles, Civil Service Commission chairperson
• * Rizalina Justol, Commission on Audit (COA) chairperson

The lack of a quorum prompted CA members to adjourn their hearing without deliberating on the officials’ qualifications.

• Duterte appoints NCMF chief, ex-Marcos lawyer, DSWD exec to Comelec

The panel only had until June 1 to approve or bypass the appointment of the 5 officials.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, who is vying to be the 19th Congress' Senate President, argued that incoming President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. should be given the opportunity to appoint his own set of officials.

• Group concerned about Zubiri's blocking of Comelec, CA, CSC nominees

"It's a matter of courtesy to the new administration... Parang hindi tama 'yan at dapat ang bagong Pangulo na ang pipili sa kanila. Fixed terms 'yan at mas mahaba pa ang term nila kaysa kay Pangulo BBM. Medyo unfair 'yan para sa new administration," Zubiri said in an earlier interview.

(It does not seem right and the new President should choose them. Those are fixed terms and their term is longer than that of President BBM. It is a bit unfair to the new administration.)

• Deliberation on Comelec appointees, other Duterte picks deferred anew

Sen. Koko Pimentel meanwhile registered his disappointment over the panel's decision.

"Justol and Nograles have no oppositors, and I looked at their qualification, outstanding... Sayang po (what a waste)," he lamented.

WILL MARCOS APPOINT BYPASSED OFFICIALS?

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Under CA rules, nominations that were not acted upon or were bypassed at the closing of the Congress session "shall be returned to the President and, unless new nominations or appointments are made, shall not again be considered by the Commission."

Incoming press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said she had "no information" on whether or not Marcos would appoint the bypassed officials.

“We are only appreciative of the gesture that the President-elect’s opinion of the officials are taken into consideration,” she said in a public briefing.

The incoming administration is going over several applications for various government posts, said Cruz-Angeles.

“Marami po kasing kinu-consider na application. Simula po nang na-announce ang kaniyang pagkapanalo, marami po ang nagpipresenta at nagsusumite ng kanilang mga aplikasyon. So to be fair, kailangan daanan, pasadahan po lahat iyan, at iyon po ang nakakatagal sa selection,” she said.

(Many applications are being considered. Since the President-elect got proclaimed, many have presented and submitted their application. We need to screen all of these and that's among the reasons why the selection process is slow.)

COMELEC CHIEF ACCEPTS DECISION WITH 'HEAVY HEART'

In a statement, Pangarungan said he accepts the decision of the CA with a "heavy heart", but reiterated that he respects it.

"It is with a heavy heart that I accept such outcome but I would like to restate my utmost respect to the actions of the CA," he said.

Pangarungan also touted the achievements of Comelec under his leadership, including the successful conduct of the 2022 national and local elections, which had the highest voter turnout.

"I and my COMELEC officialdom have successfully defended the sovereign right of suffrage of the Filipino people with the highest voter turnout in Philippine election history at 83.07 percent," he said.

He said only 27 election-related incidents were tallied this year, compared to 66 in 2019, and 167 in 2016.

Pangarungan also noted the "record-breaking speed of transmission" of election results and the "fastest proclamation" of the president and vice president, winning senators, and party-list representatives.

"In closing, I send my deepest thanks and appreciation to the men and women of the COMELEC. It is my honor to have served as your Chairman. Shukran and Wassalam," he said.

— With a report from Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News