Stop impeach raps vs Comelec exec, Namfrel urged

Two lawmakers have urged an election watchdog group not to push through with its plan to file impeachment charges against an outspoken official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) had earlier accused Comelec Commissioner Luzviminda Tancangco of "inefficiency and gross inexcusable negligence" for failing to modernize last year’s May general elections.

But if Tancangco is impeached, Rep. Willie Buyson of Bulacan and Rep. Faisah Dumarpa of Lanao del Sur said, it would only set back the Comelec’s efforts to implement reforms in the country’s antiquated election process.

"This would only [slow down the] putting in place of a modernized system that would answer the many problems of our country’s electoral system," Dumarpa said.

"What we need is a sober discussion on the controversy and a healthy democratic exchange of ideas on the issues affecting the Commission on Elections and its officials," Villarama said.

Namfrel had been pressing the poll body to implement reforms and modernize the electoral system to minimize cheating as well as speed up the counting of ballots.

For one, Namfrel wants the counting of ballots – which are done manually and could take weeks – to be computerized. Although an election reform law was passed last year, it largely remains to be implemented.

The lack of computers and the system’s cumbersome process leaves plenty of opportunities to commit fraud such as padding voters’ lists and the use of unregistered voters.

However, Namfrel claimed Tancangco was not sincere in cleaning up the country’s election system, a charge Villarama and Dumarpa deny.

"Commissioner Tancangco has ably defended herself against all charges and has the truth on her side," said Villarama, a former Bulacan vice governor.

Villarama said he could personally vouch for Tancangco, having been his professor at the state-run University of the Philippines.

Dumarpa, on the other hand, said "many Muslim politicians respect the competence and integrity of the lady commissioner."

"And we believe that her courage to stand firm for genuine electoral reforms and her unswerving commitment to rectify defective election procedures make her a good example of a professional woman who has dedicated herself to public service," Dumarpa said.

She said Namfrel would be "hard put to prove [their accusations] because she is a known workaholic."

"Under her chairmanship of the modernization committee, an honest-to-goodness evaluation of the program was undertaken and subsequently, a comprehensive modernization program has been put together, complete with a policy framework," Dumarpa said.

Tancangco’s "expertise," Dumarpa said, was recognized by her fellow lawmakers when the commissioner presented the Comelec’s modernization plan during the previous Congress.

Dumarpa said she agreed with Tancangco that the electoral system’s modernization "must not be limited to the counting of votes only. "It should included all phases of the electoral process, from registration to counting and canvassing," she said.

Purging voters’ lists of illegal voters "should be prioritized if we are to eliminate fraud," Dumarpa said.

"I know for a fact that in Lanao del Sur, the precinct mapping project of Commissioner Tancangco identified areas where there are ghost precincts, or even ghost barangays. Comelec people, for the first time in the history of the agency, went house-to-house in every barangay to check on the accuracy of the voters’ lists," Dumarpa said.