No takers for post of Comelec legal chief

No one wants to take the post vacated by two slain legal officials of the Commission on Elections apparently for fear of their life, Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said yesterday.

“There’s no taker. I think no one would like to take over,” Melo said, referring to the post left vacant when Comelec Law Department acting head Wynne Asdala was gunned down in broad daylight last Monday near the Comelec main office in Intramuros, Manila.

Asdala’s killing came four months after his predecessor, Alioden Dalaig, was also shot dead by armed men near the Hyatt Hotel in Ermita, Manila last November. Both cases are not yet solved.

In an interview, Melo said that when he met the poll officials, he joked that even a non-lawyer could assume Asdala’s post just so it will be filled up.

A Comelec source revealed that Atty. Josslyn de Mesa, another top official of the Law Department who also served as its acting head following Dalaig’s death, has also been getting death threats.

The source added that De Mesa has been on leave for the past two days and it was not immediately known when she would be reporting back to work.

Earlier, Commissioner Romeo Brawner admitted that some lawyers at the department have requested for security details following Asdala’s killing.

According to Melo, he suspects that the killings are connected to the cases being handled by the department.

The Comelec is now conducting an inventory of the cases to determine which of them could have anything to do with the murder of the two officials.

One of the controversial cases linked to the killing, according to news reports, is the pending electoral protest involving the gubernatorial polls in Shariff Kabunsuan

Melo also revealed that National Bureau of Investigation director Nestor Mantaring complained to him in a phone conversation yesterday that Asdala’s wife and his family refused to cooperate with them.

“He reported to me that they are having a difficult time with the widow of Atty. Asdala and the family as well. They refuse to talk and cooperate.  They would not even give their cel phone (numbers).  They don’t even want to file a complaint with the NBI,” he said. But Melo assured that the Comelec would be pursuing Asdala’s case “so that the NBI can go on with its investigation.”

Asked about the reported refusal of Law Department employees to cooperate with investigators, Melo urged the police to identify them “and we’ll see what we can do.” 

He maintained that the Comelec could provide them with protection should they request for it.