Solon to file opposition vs confirmation of 2 Comelec execs

An administration congressman is set to oppose the appointments of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Alfredo Benipayo and Commissioner Resurreccion Borra, whom he blamed for the internal squabbling that has wracked the poll body.

Rep. Prospero Pichay (Lakas, Surigao del Sur) said yesterday he will file a formal opposition with the Commission on Appointments (CA) next week, even as he called on the two Comelec officials to give President Arroyo a free hand by voluntarily resigning.

Pichay, who heads the House national defense committee, said his opposition sprang from what he termed as Benipayo’s "demonstrated failure to be a competent chairman of the Comelec, resulting in a stalemate between the old and new commissioners."

"We have to protect the integrity of the Comelec, which has already been damaged by all these intramurals between the two groups. As it now stands, the public has already lost faith in the poll body’s ability to ensure clean and honest elections," the lawmaker said.

Pichay said Benipayo and Borra have apparently ignored the Comelec’s time-honored operation as a collegial body, resulting in the polarization of the body into two hostile camps.

"The poll body has never been this fractious in its entire history," he said. "The current state of anarchy erodes the confidence of the public and even of foreign investors in the strength of the country’s democratic institutions."

While stressing that his opposition did not mean that he was siding with the group of four incumbent commissioners, Pichay said it was largely Benipayo’s fault that the Comelec board has become so fractious.

"The chairman has failed to consolidate the Comelec into a cohesive collegial body. If they had been objective in their decisions, anchored on legal and constitutional grounds, then I am sure they would not have been so vehemently contested by all four incumbent commissioners," he said.

Pichay said it was now urgent for Malacañang to recommend fresh appointees to the Comelec, in view of the upcoming barangay polls in May and other proposals like the absentee voting bill.

"The fundamental duty of any democracy is to ensure the sanctity of the ballot, so that leaders are truly representative of the people’s will. As it is now constituted the Comelec cannot fulfill this duty," he said.

Since assuming the post, the Comelec chief has been accusing his four colleagues of meddling in administrative matters that are purely his prerogative as chairman.

The commissioners, on the other hand, claimed that their boss has been exceeding his authority and usurping the powers of the Comelec as a collegial body.