P-Noy urged to appoint Comelec insiders

MANILA, Philippines - Employees of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) want insiders named as replacements when  Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. as well as Commissioners Lucenito Tagle and Elias Yusoph retire in February next year.

The Comelec Employees Union (Comelec-EU) asked President Aquino to consider poll officials in his list of possible appointees to fill vacancies in the commission.

“There is no shortage of qualified officials from within the ranks,” the group said in a statement.

However, the Comelec union declined to nominate a particular poll official.

The union said appointing an insider is crucial considering the proximity of the 2016 national and local elections.

“In this regard, appointing insiders who are no longer strangers to the inner workings of the Comelec and the fundamentals of the country’s electoral processes will certainly benefit the nation as a whole,” the union said.

The union said the appointment of an insider would lead to the improvement of the rights and welfare of rank and file employees of the Comelec.

“They have devoted the best years of their lives in Comelec so they are most sensitive to the plight and needs of the workers,” the union said.

All the retiring officials are not insiders, although Brillantes was a long-time election lawyer until he was appointed to head the Comelec.

Tagle was a retired Court of Appeals justice, while Yusoph was a provincial prosecutor in Marawi City. 

Only four Comelec commissioners – Christian Lim, Al Parreno, Luie Guia and Arthur Lim – will be left with the retirement of the three.