Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Erwin Tulfo (File photo)
MANILA – Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Monday said the appointment of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Erwin Tulfo faces a bypass from the Commission on Appointments (CA).
Zubiri said the Senate invited legal luminaries to deliberate on Tulfo’s “complicated” case, including his citizenship and previous libel convictions.
His fate now lies in the hands of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. who must reappoint the former broadcast journalist.
Congress will begin its Christmas break on Dec. 17.
“Yes, he will be bypassed and he has to be reappointed by the President. I like Sec. Tulfo. Masipag siya. Nasasayangan ako sa kanya (He is hardworking. Such a waste) but we have to perform our constitutional mandate. We have to weigh in on what the justices are saying. They have legal opinions and Supreme Court decisions,” Zubiri said in a press briefing.
Tulfo was convicted for four counts of libel and failed to submit documents to prove that he is no longer an American citizen after a previous enlistment in the United States Army.
“The CA has never confirmed anyone with final conviction. Pag-aralan muna natin mabuti ang (We will have to study the) legal implications. It involves moral turpitude,” Zubiri said.
Tulfo's first confirmation hearing was suspended on Nov. 22.
He admitted his libel convictions "because of my line of work as a journalist" but asked for an executive session when the citizenship issue was raised by congressmen Oscar Malapitan (Caloocan, 1st District) and Rodante Marcoleta (Sagip party-list),
The CA, Zubiri said, is also set to hear the confirmation of Secretaries Jose Acuzar, Human Settlements and Urban Development; Jaime Bautista, Transportation; and Arsenio Balisacan, National Economic and Development Authority; commissioners of the Commission on Elections; Armed Forces of the Philippines officials; and other career officers. (PNA)
