Comelec row: All’s well that ends well

MANILA, Philippines - After debunking claims of a feud between two of its officials, the seven members of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) faced the media yesterday to assure the public that all is well among them.

“All’s well that ends well. Your commission is firmly in good hands. We are united and focused to do the mandate that the Constitution has given us,” said Comelec Commissioner Arthur Lim during the press briefing.

The commissioners also decided to adopt the comment Commissioner Rowena Guanzon filed before the Supreme Court (SC) on the disqualification case against Sen. Grace Poe, which reportedly triggered her feud with Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista.

Lim said Guanzon’s comment would be ratified and confirmed in a resolution.

Bautista had issued a memorandum for Guanzon after she filed the comment on Jan. 7 without the signature of the other commissioners.

“We’d like to give a firm assurance to our people that the Comelec is firmly committed to the holding of a clean, honest, orderly, peaceful, credible elections in 2016,” Lim said.

“We shall not be sidetracked by any other issues other than to focus on the 2016 elections and make it a successful exercise for our people,” he said.

Lim said the reported misunderstanding between Bautista and Guanzon was “expected” in any collegial body. “The important thing is that we are able to address the issues and we have ourselves now decided to move forward and to leave all this controversy behind us.”

On track

Lim gave assurance that the Comelec is “firmly on track in all the election timelines.”

“We are even ahead of schedule and we shall, with the help of divine providence, fulfill our mandate to the best of our ability and everything, all the controversy in the past has finally been resolved and settled.”

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said all the members of the poll body decided to face the media to remind the public that they are acting as one collegial body.

“The commission is sensitive. It’s not blind to news that Comelec is in disarray,” Jimenez said.

He said Lim played a “central role” to ensure that the facts and various points of view were raised “one by one.”