De Lima tops Namfrel survey for next Comelec chief

MANILA, Philippines - The National Citizen’s Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) is conducting a survey to look for possible replacements of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. and two other officials who are set to retire in February 2015.

Namfrel secretary general Eric Alvia said they have their own shortlist of nominees but want to validate this with public opinion so they decided to do the survey.

“We are convening a search committee but having this survey is one way of making the nomination process more inclusive. We did this in 2007,” Alvia said.

Brillantes, along with Commissioners Lucenito Tagle and Elias Yusoph, will retire next year after completing their seven-year terms.

 The survey was launched a week ago through Namfrel’s website, www.namfrel.gov.ph.

There are two sets of questionnaires – one was about the public’s choices of new chairman and commissioners and the other is the qualities that they are looking for in a poll official.

Alvia said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who was practicing election law before joining the government in 2008, topped the list of nominees for chairman.

The others are Comelec Commissioner Luie de Guia, who used to head the poll watchdog Legal Network for Truthful Elections, and retired Associate Justice Antonio Nachura.