Malacañang says Comelec vacancies to be filled before May polls

President Arroyo would fill up vacancies at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in time for the May polls, Malacañang officials said yesterday.

Presidential Political Adviser Gabriel Claudio said a search committee had been formed to look into the qualifications of candidates for the position of Comelec commissioner.

So far, Mrs. Arroyo has appointed former Court of Appeals presiding justice Romeo Brawner, Rene Sarmiento and Nicodemo Ferrer to the Comelec to take the place of those who had retired or no longer re-appointed, including Virgilio Garcillano, who was implicated in the election cheating allegations against the President.

"I think the President knows when to make such a judgment. In time for the preparations for the elections, she will make the appointment," Claudio said.

Mrs. Arroyo’s appointment of Garcillano and Manuel Barcelona before the May 2004 elections became controversial as critics claimed they would become "operators" for the President.

Since the "Hello Garci" cheating controversy, Mrs. Arroyo vowed to cleanse the Comelec and ensure that credible people would be appointed into the poll body.

‘No’ to poll automation

Meanwhile, election lawyers advised the President not to approve the poll automation bill being pushed by Congress in time for the May elections due to several "impractical provisions."

Mrs. Arroyo’s own election lawyer, Romulo Macalintal, along with Sixto Brillantes and Pedro Cuadra said the bill, if passed into law and implemented, would not be effective in stopping any cheating during the elections because of lack of time to prepare for it.

Macalintal said it would be best to further study the bill and not push the automation of the May elections even just in several pilot areas.

"Some of the impractical provisions include the random manual audit with the consent of local government officials. That is against the Constitution. We also need to orient the teachers on the use of computers. Three to four months will not be enough to do this," Macalintal said.

He said the bidding for the equipment and the printing of the ballots could also not be done in a very short time.

"So we gave the President this unsolicited advice that we should not push for automated elections yet," Macalintal said. — With Paolo Romero