Senators back Comelec move to create ethics committee

MANILA, Philippines – Some senators have expressed support for the plan of the Commission on Elections to create an ethics committee to discipline erring commissioners and officials who might violate the internal rules of the poll body.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said the creation of an ethics committee in the Comelec would give the commissioners a venue to discipline and possibly impose sanctions on erring commissioners and officials.

“It’s a welcome development so that Comelec can discipline its own ranks short of impeachment,” Trillanes said.

Once appointed by the President and affirmed by the Commission on Appointments, Comelec commissioners enjoy a fixed term. They can only be removed via impeachment.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III is also open to the idea but he would rather let the Comelec leadership decide on the matter.

“It’s their call,” Sotto said, adding that the Senate has no such thing.

The Senate has an ethics committee but it has not been fully organized because the senators are careful about judging their peers.

Trillanes and Sotto were asked to react after Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista filed a resolution promulgated on Friday, seeking the creation of the ethics committee.

Bautista said an ethics committee is a “governance tool in a collegial body that ensures that there will be no abuse of authority.”

“We will pattern our committee after that of the Supreme Court. We will adopt the Supreme Court’s ethics committee’s best practices,” Bautista said.

The Comelec chief said the creation of the committee does not intend to investigate Commissioner Rowena Guanzon.

“It is not directed toward anybody,” he said.

On Jan. 7, Guanzon submitted a comment to the SC regarding an appeal filed by Sen. Grace Poe against a Comelec ruling disqualifying her in the presidential elections.

The ruling stemmed from the consolidated petitions for disqualification filed by former senator Francisco Tatad, De La Salle University professor Antonio Contreras and former University of the East College of Law dean Amado Valdez.

Despite an exchange of words in public, the Comelec officials eventually settled their differences.