Melo urges Palace to appoint new Comelec commissioners

MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Jose Melo urged Malacañang yesterday to immediately appoint new commissioners following the death of Commissioner Romeo Brawner the other day.

In an interview after the necrological service for Brawner held at the Comelec, Melo said the demise of Brawner left the poll body with only one chairman and three commissioners.

“So that’s a bare minimum. Not one of us can afford to be absent, not one of us can afford to be sick or even indisposed. Every time we meet, all of us will have to be present and all of us will have to concur in all actions,” he said.

Melo stressed that as a policy, “anything less than four in the decisions of the Comelec will not be valid and binding.”

The poll chief said that he relayed this concern when Malacañang’s Search Committee chairman Secretary Bernardino Abes called him last Thursday.

“Fortunately, I was called by Secretary Abes so I asked him if he can bring to the attention of the President the need to appoint new commissioners not only on the matter of quorum but also to ease the work of other commissioners. This will be a back-breaking job, especially since we are preparing for the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.”

Before Brawner had a heart attack, the Comelec already lacked two commissioners because of the retirement of Commissioners Resurreccion Borra and Florentino Tuazon last February.

But Melo is expecting Mrs. Arroyo to fill up the vacancies in the Comelec when Congress goes on recess on June 11.

Appointments made when Congress is adjourned are called ad interim appointments.  Those appointed under this procedure are able to assume office pending confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.

Comelec officials and employees held a necrological service for Brawner, who was appointed to the poll body on Sept. 17, 2005 after he retired as a presiding judge at the Court of Appeals.

In his speech, Melo said that Brawner’s ideas for electoral reform would “definitely find its way in the policies of the Comelec.”

Brawner is the author of the 10-point agenda on electoral reforms that had been adopted by the Comelec as part of the preparation for the 2010 presidential polls. The agenda includes the automation of the electoral system and the holding of a general registration because the last general registration was conducted 12 years ago. – Sheila Crisostomo