CA okays Teehankee appointment as PH envoy to WTO

The powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) has unanimously approved the appointment of Ambassador Manuel Teehankee as the Philippines’ permanent representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland.

No member of the CA panel objected when a motion for Teehankee’s confirmation was raised on the floor on Wednesday.

His appointment, however, was met with oppositions when being deliberated at the CA’s committee on foreign affairs.

The Geneva Forum for Philippine Concerns and Ugnayang Bayan, which are both based in Geneva— had sent separate letters to the committee, opposing Teehankee’s appointment citing a 2005 case against him involving his former employee.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, an opposition member, said she would have voted against Teehankee’s confirmation “in solidarity” with the issues raised by the Geneva Forum for Philippine Concerns against the nominee.

“Until this moment the oppositor, the Geneva Forum is not withdrawing its opposition and therefore at least in solidarity with the issues that they had raised, if the Commission had moved into secret balloting then I would be obliged to vote ‘no’ with all due respect to the good ambassador,” Hontiveros told the committee.

The panel later recommended Teehankee’s confirmation, which was adopted in the plenary. /jpv

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