The President has been actively exercising his commander-in-chief powers by directly supervising the operations to end the Zamboanga standoff.
Last week, we had a post here on the commander-in-chief powers of the President: In particular: 1)the so-called “calling-out” power or the power to call out the armed forces to quell any rebellion, invasion, lawless violence.
This means that the President alone has the power to order, command, deploy, and direct the armed forces in order to suppress lawless violence, rebellion, invasion. But of course he can delegate the operational details to the defense secretary or the chief of staff.
But based on this president’s life history, maybe he has experience in security matters and would probably like to see through the Zamboanga crisis first-hand with minimal damage to civilian life and property.
(The other commander-in-chief powers have been discussed here last week: the power to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus subject to constitutional limits and the power to declare martial law subject to the same limits. )
What about the so-called “emergency powers”? What are those?
Only Congress can grant the President extraordinary powers under a state of emergency which Congress declares: In particular:
1.In times of war or a national emergency, Congress by resolution may grant the President emergency powers, such as the take-over of public utilities.
If the President on his own declares a state of emergency, that presidential declaration does not confer any extraordinary powers on him.
2.The second so-called emergency power (actually, it’s the first in the emergency powers clause Constitution) is dire. You don’t want it. They are war powers. As follows: Only Congress can declare a state of war by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses in joint session voting separately (that is: 2/3 vote of the lower House and 2/3 vote of the Senate). Only after such declaration of a state of war can the President exercise “war powers”.
Our generation has never seen a congressional declaration of war and God forbid that we do. Examples of war powers are: punishing, based on a compulsory conscription law, those who refuse to heed the draft to the armed forces; directing the use of communication facilities and other utilities for national defense; directing and controlling the transport of basic commodities like rice and food stuff; controlling news media content for defense purposes; etc.
We’re good with basic commander-in-chief calling-out powers. The mopping up operations is on-going.
The plight of more than a hundred thousand displaced civilians need to be addressed urgently, though.
(Updated) PNoy to submit for CA confirmation Roxas as local government secretary and Abaya as transportation secretary: Distinction between a regular appointment and an ad interim appointment
PNoy will forthwith submit the nominations of transportation secretary Mar Roxas as local government secretary and Cavite Rep. Jun Abaya as transportation secretary to the Commission on Appointments for confirmation.
Upon announcing their appointment, the President fielded questions from the media and said, “They cannot sit in their respective posts until they are confirmed …Congress is in session so we cannot make an ad interimappointment. This is why we are asking the CA to act on these appointments immediately.” (ANC News)
The following are the pertinent provisions of the Constitution:
“Art. VII. Section 16. The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, or officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers whose appointments are vested in him in this Constitution. He shall also appoint all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint. The Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of other officers lower in rank in the President alone, in the courts, or in the heads of departments, agencies, commissions, or boards.
“The President shall have the power to make appointments during the recess of the Congress, whether voluntary or compulsory, but such appointments shall be effective only until disapproved by the Commission on Appointments or until the next adjournment of the Congress.”
The first sentence provides: : “shall nominate and, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, appoint…”
The appointments do not take effect unless “consented to” by the Commission on Appointments.
The second paragraph provides: “shall have the power to make appointments during the recess.. shall be effective only until disapproved by the Commission on Appointments or until the next adjournment…”
In other words, when Congress is not in session, the chief executive has more leeway in the sense that the “appointee” can start working but is an “unconfirmed” appointee or he/she has to go to the trouble of going back to the Commission on Appointment for confirmation (an ad interim appointment).
For purposes of academic discussion, the following news feature from the archives of Vera Files illustrates the distinction between a regular appointment and an ad interim appointment:
“ Robredo no longer ‘acting’ DILG secretary, gets regular appointment from Aquino June 27, 2011/ By Ellen Tordesillas. After almost a year, President Benigno Aquino III has decided that he can work with Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, whom he is keeping in the Cabinet and to whom he is finally handing over supervision of the Philippine National Police.
“Last June 13, Aquino issued Robredo, who assumed the post in an acting capacity, an “ad interim” appointment.
“The appointment elevates Robredo to the status of full-fledged secretary, with Malacanang finally submitting his name to the Commission on Appointments for confirmation once Congress reopens in July.
“ `We confirm that last June 13, President Aquino issued an ad interim appointment to Mr. Jesse Robredo as secretary of Interior and Local Government,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a text message in answer to VERA Files’ query about Robredo’s change of official status.
“Lacierda also confirmed that the PNP will now come under Robredo’s supervision.
“Ad interim appointments are issued when Congress is not in session to allow the official to legally perform his duties until the Commission on Appointments confirms or bypasses the appointment. The first regular session of the 15th Congress adjourned on June 8. It will resume for its second regular session on July 25.
“Aquino came under fire after VERA Files revealed last year that Robredo, despite his credentials, was excluded from the first batch of appointments Aquino made at the start of his administration on June 30, 2010. Aquino appointed Robredo in an acting capacity on July 9, 2010, but did not give him control over the PNP. xxx ”
