New Comelec officers must pass through CA — Pimentel

The two incoming members of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should go through the process of confirmation by the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) to test their independence.

Opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. made this proposal yesterday as he revealed that President Arroyo intends to replace Comelec Commissioners Ralph Lantion and Luzviminda Tancangco with members of the "Gloria Bantay Balota," a group organized by First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and headed by Pancho Villaraza.

Villaraza is the personal lawyer of Mrs. Arroyo and her husband.

With the retirement yesterday of Lantion and Tancangco, the Comelec will soon be dominated by Arroyo appointees.

Pimentel told reporters he also received information from reliable sources that the President plans to appoint the new commissioners once Congress adjourns its session this weekend so the incoming Comelec officials will no longer have to go through the confirmation process.

"Members of the Commission on Appointments should not abdicate their constitutional duty of looking into the background and qualifications of the incoming Comelec commissioners. They should not play deaf and dumb to the public sentiment that those who will man the ramparts of our electoral system must be non-partisan and independent," Pimentel said.

It is only through the confirmation process that the integrity and independence of the incoming election commissioners can be tested, he said.

Pimentel, who is not a CA member, urged the Senate and the House of Representatives to extend their session and to await the appointment of Lantion’s and Tancangco’s replacements so the appointments commission can scrutinize them.

The two chambers are going on a four-month adjournment this Friday. They will resume their session in June after the May elections.

Pimentel also urged Mrs. Arroyo to now reveal who she is planning to appoint to the two vacancies in the Comelec and to give the people a chance to ventilate their objections to them in any case they feel that they are not qualified for the positions.

"We cannot let the President appoint just anybody there. What is important is the incoming election commissioners are deserving of the people’s trust," he said.

There are three Arroyo appointees thus far in the seven-member poll body, including chairman Benjamin Abalos.

Abalos earlier said that the Comelec was not recommending anybody for the President to appoint, but commissioner Resurreccion Borra –another Arroyo appointee, prefers that lawyers replace their retired colleagues.

The law says that the Comelec majority should be lawyers.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye had also denied that the Palace was set to appoint to the commission lawyers closely associated with the presidential legal counsel.

The Carpio Villaraza Cruz law firm has been closely linked with disqualification petitions against presidential contender Fernando Poe Jr., seen as Mrs. Arroyo’s closest rival in May.