The Commission on Appointments (CA), set to adjourn next week, fast-tracked on Wednesday the confirmation of four ranking Cabinet officials and four new ambassadors nominated for various postings by the Duterte administration.
Senators and Representatives sitting in the CA gave their collective nod on the Palace nominations of National Economic and Development Authority Director-General Ernesto M. Pernia, Communications Secretary Rodolfo A. Salalima, Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo and Science Fortunato T. de la Peña. Also confirmed without delay were new Philippine ambassadors, namely:
■ Uriel Norman Robles Garibay to the Republic of Kenya, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Burundi, Union of Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of the Congo, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Rwanda, Republic of Seychelles, Federal Republic of Somalia, United Republic of Tanzania, Republic of Uganda and Republic of South Sudan, and as permanent representative to the United Nations Environmental Programme and United Nations Human Settlements Programme;
■ Jose C. Laurel V as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Japan;
■ Shirley Ho-Vicario as ambassador extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Benin, Burkina Faso, the Republic of Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of Cote D’lvoire or Ivory Coast, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, the Gabonese Republic, the Islamic Republic of Gambia, the Republic of Ghana, the Republic of Guinea, the Republic of Liberia, the Republic of Senegal, the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Togolese Republic; and,
■ Jose Santiago Sta. Romana as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the People’s Republic of China, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Mongolia.