EDITORIAL - Emasculated

As of yesterday, Sixto Brillantes had not yet quit as chairman of the Commission on Elections. The other day, Brillantes openly expressed frustration over Comelec orders in connection with the May 13 elections that have been overturned or suspended by the Supreme Court. Brillantes sighed that he wanted to resign, and said the SC should just run the Comelec.

His frustration stemmed from the SC order the other day, which suspended Comelec rules on air time limits for political advertising on radio and television for the midterm elections. The SC’s order to maintain the status quo on broadcast advertising came on the heels of the high court’s reversal of its own 12-year-old jurisprudence on party-list participation, which the Comelec had used to disqualify over 80 organizations from the party-list race.

While noting that the Comelec was correct in its disqualification order based on the old parameters, the high court also ordered the poll body to reassess the disqualification of more than 50 organizations that petitioned the tribunal for a review, based on new parameters stated in the latest SC decision.

With only a few weeks to go before election day, Brillantes’ frustration is understandable. The SC is vested with vast powers under the Constitution, and it has often been criticized for failing to exercise restraint in wielding power. In several cases, the high court has been perceived to take on the role of executive and economic regulator, emasculating the affected agencies.

The situation is complicated by the slow pace of judicial adjudication, creating uncertainty in government work and spooking the business community. Compounding the uncertainty is that the high court has a record of reversing its own final and executory decisions, as the party-list case has shown. Recent court decisions have also opened the doors for endless litigation.

The Comelec chief now hopes that the SC at least will rule quickly on the case of the radio and TV ad time limits. Brillantes is urging the high court to rule quickly on the Comelec order, which is meant to prevent wealthy candidates from enjoying an edge over the underprivileged. It is a reasonable appeal. If the SC wants to make everything its business, it should at least speed up the pace of adjudication.