Drilon to Comelec: No need to pressure Miriam

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Franklin Drilon yesterday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against making a fuss over the need to declare the seat of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago vacant.

Drilon slammed critics eager to look for Santiago’s replacement even before she goes to The Hague to assume her post as judge for the International Criminal Court (ICC).

He said the issue should not even be a problem. 

“This is not a problem… I don’t know why they are making it a big issue,” Drilon said over dwIZ radio.

Drilon said Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes made an error in insisting Santiago decide on her impending assignment to the ICC to allow Comelec to prepare for ballots with 13 slots for next year’s national elections.

Brillantes called on Santiago to inform them when she would be leaving her post to allow the Comelec to adjust and prepare ballots for 13 names for the 2013 elections.

“For me, Chairman Sixto Brillantes is wrong (in his position) since the Comelec is the one who proclaims (winning senators), not the PCOS machines,” Drilon said.

The Comelec can configure the PCOS machines to accept 13 names but only 12 winning senators can be proclaimed until Santiago has not resigned, Drilon pointed out.

Drilon said the 13th senator can be proclaimed once a vacancy is determined by the Senate.

“The 13th senator cannot be proclaimed until Senator Miriam has not taken oath or has not taken her ICC post. That should be clear,” he said.

“It is wrong to say that they should even print the ballots for 13 senators. There is no basis to even pressure Senator Miriam about this. Chairman Brillantes’ stand has no basis,” Drilon said in Filipino.

Drilon said he would send Brillantes a letter to also put the issue into proper perspective.

As for Brillantes, he said the Comelec does not see any problem if Santiago decides to resign after the ballots for the 2013 midterm polls have already been “configured.” Brillantes said there is still an option that Comelec can choose.

“We are already discussing the possibility that we will require the shading of only 12 senators, because it is still unclear for Senator Miriam, but we will proclaim 13 senators,” Brillantes told GMA-7.

If Santiago resigns after the configuration of the ballots, the Comelec will just proclaim the senatorial bet in the 13th slot, he said.

The 13th proclaimed senator or Santiago’s replacement, however, would just continue her unfinished term of three years, Brillantes explained.

“We can do that by issuing a resolution that the number 13 will be the one that will fill the vacancy,” he said.

At the same time, Brillantes clarified the Comelec is not pressuring Santiago to quit since there is this option. 

“(It’s just that it is) more convenient if (she resigns by) Oct. 5, which is the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs). We have this allowance of up to the end of the year (for her to decide) but when we configure the ballots in January, we hope everything is settled already,” he said. – With Sheila Crisostomo