Abalos wants SK polls scrapped, vows to unite Comelec

If the new chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has his way, the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) youth elections and the city and municipal council elections would someday be history.

However, Benjamin Abalos said removing factionalism within the Comelec would be his "first order of business" when he starts work there on Monday.

"Let’s not talk about the tyranny of numbers," he said in an interview with reporters, saying that bickering would only hamper the Comelec’s main effort of modernizing the country’s antiquated electoral system.

Abalos said the SK elections should be abolished because it is doing more harm than good. Instead of harnessing their ideals by involving youths in their communities, exposing them to politics at such an early age only corrupts them.

As for the council and municipal elections, barangay captains could automatically become members of a council because they duplicate the functions of councilors. Abalos said the law would have to be amended if the SK and council elections are to be abolished.

The Comelec is currently in the thick of preparations for the July 15 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls.

The change of leadership at the Comelec will not hamper preparations for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, which are less than five weeks away, Comelec Commissioner Resurreccion Borra said yesterday.

Preparations for the July 15 polls are nearly complete, he said. "So hindi naman maapektuhan and trabaho dito sa biglang pag-alis ni Benipayo (So the work at the Comelec will not be affected by Benipayo’s sudden departure)," he told ABS-CBN television.

Last Monday, President Arroyo appointed Abalos, former Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman, to replace Alfredo Benipayo, whose one-year stint had been marred with internal bickering among the seven-member commission.

Benipayo had been bypassed by the Commission on Appointments seven times. However, Mrs. Arroyo reappointed Borra and Florentino Tuason as Comelec commissioners.

Benipayo has been included in a "short list" of nominees to the Supreme Court submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council to the President for her consideration, according to acting Press Secretary Silvestre Afable.

Supreme Court insiders, however, said Benipayo might have some difficulty getting the post because some people are not happy with his stint as court administrator. They said he came across as arrogant in dealing with people.

He headed the Office of the Court Administrator, which supervises courts across the country, during the time of Chief Justice Andres Narvasa.

Benipayo, Borra and Tuason did not see eye to eye with commissioners Rufino Javier, Ralph Lantion, Mehol Sadain and Luzviminda Tancangco – all appointees of deposed President Joseph Estrada. Both sides differed on how to modernize the country’s election system.

Mending fences

Trying to mend fences, Abalos – a known ally of Mrs. Arroyo – met with the four Estrada-appointed commissioners over dinner at his Mandaluyong City residence.

Abalos said he was warmly welcomed by the four and they showed signs that they would cooperate with him.

They discussed plans on how to modernize the elections – from devising a fool-proof registration of voters, to purging cheats from the Comelec’s list of registered voters, to computerizing the counting of ballots.

Abalos said he will have talks with the election watchdog group National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) to get their opinion.

Namfrel has been pushing for a computerization of the counting of ballots for the 2004 presidential elections.

Namfrel chairman Jose Concepcion Jr. told reporters that he called Abalos on the phone to say that "it is very important that we proceed with the automation of the counting and canvassing of the 2004 elections."

Concepcion also asked Abalos to allow Namfrel to participate in the Comelec’s discussions on the agency’s election modernization program.

A victim of poll fraud twice, Abalos had vowed to modernize the country’s electoral system and rid it of cheats.

Abalos served 10 years as a judge, a prosecutor and a mayor for several terms. During the Marcos dictatorship, he lost in several bids for assemblyman and mayor.

Abalos declined to say who might replace him at the MMDA, leaving it up to President to announce the appointment. Malacañang sources said former Muntinlupa mayor Ignacio Bunye – who headed the MMDA’s forerunner, the Metropolitan Manila Authority – and Marikina Mayor Bayani Fernando are possible candidates.

Abalos’s appointment was announced following a takeover of sorts last Monday by Tancangco and her colleagues over the Comelec leadership.

Last Monday, they held a meeting at the Comelec’s Manila headquarters and named Javier as acting chairman, while Sadain was named acting spokesman and commissioner-in-charge of the agency’s education and information department. Tancangco said it was only a temporary reorganization.

Explaining their move, Sadain said the terms of Benipayo, Borra and Tuason expired on June 4 when Congress adjourned. And under an old Comelec policy, they had to elect an acting chairman if there is no one to lead the commission.

Javier was named acting chairman because he’s the most senior among the four.

Meanwhile, some senators welcomed the appointment of Abalos. Senate Majority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Senators Edgardo Angara, Francis Pangilinan and Robert Jaworski called on Abalos to end the infighting that has been crippling the agency.

Pimentel said Abalos is a "good choice."

"I hope he can unite the Comelec factions for the sake of honest elections and for the sake of our people," he said.

Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, revision of codes and laws, and electoral reforms, said Abalos would not take sides in the Comelec intramurals. – With Delon Porcalla, Jess Diaz, Aurea Calica