Comelec en banc on controversies: All’s well that ends well

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc on Tuesday afternoon held a presser to announce that all the controversies involving the poll body has been resolved and settled.

Commissioner Arthur Lim particularly mentioned that the rift between Comelec Chair Juan Andres Bautista and Maria Rowena Guanzon was already settled.

“The important thing is that we were able to address the issues and we have ourselves now decided to move forward and to leave all these controversies behind us. So all is well that ends well,” Lim said.

“All the controversy in the past has now been finally resolved and settled,” he said.

Bautista and Guanzon earlier had a word war over a comment submitted by Guanzon before the Supreme Court regarding Sen. Grace Poe’s appeal for her disqualification from the 2016 race, without the concurrence of the Comelec en banc.

READ: Ex-Comelec chief on Bautista, Guanzon rift: Don’t make it public

Lim assured the public that the poll body is now united and decided to instead focus on the preparations for the 2016 polls.

“Your commission is firmly in good hands. We are united and focused to do the mandate the Constitution has given to us,” Lim said.

The commissioner also noted that their election agenda is being accomplished as scheduled and some are even ahead of the target period citing the arrival of voting machines and the warehousing requirements.

“We would like to assure each and everyone, especially our people, that the Commission on Elections is firmly on track in all the election timelines even as we speak the voting machines are arriving in Manila and in the port of Manila and the warehousing requirement and all other activities are on track. We are even ahead of schedule,” Lim said.

All seven members of the Comelec en banc namely Bautista, Commissioners Guanzon, Christian Robert Lim, Luie Tito Guia, Al Parreño, Sheriff Abas and Arthur Lim in a rare occasion faced the media but refused to accept questions from the press.