Confirmation of Comelec chief pushed

MANILA, Philippines – Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal yesterday sought the immediate confirmation of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista to ensure the smooth conduct of the general  elections next year.

“With so much work to do in preparation for the 2016 elections, it was so impractical if not unreasonable to defer the confirmation of its nominated Chairman Andres Bautista on mere allegation of a secret report,” Macalintal said in a statement.

“The Commission on Appointments owes it to the nation to immediately confirm Bautista as there is plenty of work to be done at the Comelec which need his immediate attention to ensure clean and credible 2016 elections,” Macalintal said.

According to Macalintal, Bautista should not be blamed for  alleged missing votes during the 2013 midterm elections.

“The alleged 12 million missing votes in the 2013 elections should not have been nor should be the basis of any objection to the confirmation of the nomination of Bautista as chairman of the Comelec. Such incident did not incur in Bautista’s tenure but under former Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes,” Macalintal said.

He said Brillantes can explain and defend the alleged secret report of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).

Earlier, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile deferred the confirmation of Bautista due to results from 18,000 clustered precincts that were not transmitted.

Macalintal said Enrile could have been misled or misinformed because it was impossible for such a huge number of 12 million votes to be unaccounted in any election.

“Never did it happen in the history of our political spectrum that such an enormous number of votes that could materially affect the results of the elections would remain unaccounted,” Macalintal pointed out.

He said if this is true, the missing 12 million unaccounted votes could create political havoc considering the propensity of losing candidates to shout out loud that they were cheated.

Macalintal said members of the Commission on Appointments (CA) should have been guided by the fact that all the twelve winning senators in the 2013 elections as well as local government officials have been duly proclaimed and assumed their respective positions.

If 12 million votes in the 2013 elections are still missing, Macalintal said there would be no Congress and no elective officials.

He stressed that the PPCRV report was based on incomplete unofficial results.

Even in the past, Macalintal said the PPCRV and other accredited citizens’ arms never got 100 percent results of any election due to technical problems.

“But for sure, these results were duly canvassed under the watchful eyes of the candidates and political parties’ watchers and their lawyers from the municipal boards of canvassers to the provincial boards to the national board of canvassers,” Macalintal said.