PRSP elections postponed

The 2004 elections for the board of directors of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP), originally scheduled today at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila, have been postponed to a new date to be announced later.

This was announced by the PRSP election committee headed by Pete Padre as chairman with Evelyn del Rosario and Vic del Fierro as members to resolve, among others, an issue concerning proxies.

Padre, a PRSP past president and accredited public relations practitioner (APR), explained that a number of proxies submitted by some of the members were initially considered to be defective in form.

"Instead of disapproving them outright, the committee opted to give the members concerned an opportunity to perfect the said proxies and for the PRSP secretariat to have enough time to verify and validate them," Padre said.

Another issue raised concerned members who had been declared not in good standng by the incumbent PRSP board, hence not eligible to vote, for nonpayment of dues within the specified time. Padre said the committee had asked the board for a definitive ruling on the issue since this concerned a policy matter which, in the committee’s opinion, was not within its authority.

The postponement of elections was intended to ensure a level playing field for all the candidates and to allow emotions to cool down, Padre said. He assured that the election committee will be fair and impartial in the conduct of the elections. He said the new election date will be set by the election committee when all the pending issues have been resolved.

Nine PRSP board members are up for election. All members in good standing are eligible for election, except for a few who declined to be considered. The new board members will then elect from among themselves the president, who must be an APR, and other officers for 2004.