MANILA, Philippines — Newly-appointed commissioners vowed to work for fair and honest 2022 elections as the Comelec welcomes three new members and bat controversies months before the country elects new leaders.
A day after the announcement of new appointments, the Comelec on Wednesday afternoon held welcome ceremonies for its newly elected officials. Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan and Commissioner Aimee Neri attended the event physically, while Commissioner George Garcia reportedly only joined the en banc session remotely.
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Their appointments completed the seven-member Comelec en banc, merely two months before the 2022 national and local elections.
Pangarungan, a former National Commission on Muslim Filipinos secretary, thanked President Rodrigo Duterte — a fellow graduate of San Beda law — for his appointment, but the new Comelec chief stressed that he is taking the helm of the poll body with a mission to strengthen it.
"I stand before you today as a defender of the democracy who will be independent and conscientious in giving life to the fundamental freedom of suffrage," he said.
Pangarungan acknowledged that the poll body is only as strong as its workforce and he vowed to make their growth a priority in his term. "Every official and employee should be given that they are due so that, in return, I could demand their best and topnotch service for this Commission," he added.
"We aim to strengthen the Commission so that we can perform our most important mandate and that is to preserve the sanctity of the vote and the independence of the Commission," the Comelec chief also said.
Controversies
Commissioner Neri, previously a Social Welfare undersecretary, said that even as she takes a new post, she will continue to uphold the oath she took as a lawyer.
"And, as a public servant for almost 17 years, in the judiciary and the executive, the trust reposed by the public is sacred… It is my personal oath to the Filipino people to repay the public by being truthful to the values and mandate of the Comelec," she added in her speech.
Acknowledging that the Comelec is facing "issues" she did not identify, Neri vowed they "will advocate and ensure that we will have an honest, fair and free conduct of election."
The Comelec has recently received a temporary restraining order against its "Oplan Baklas" campaign in private areas and has recently been subjected to a petition by government lawyers led by Solicitor General Jose Calida over its memorandum of agreement with online news outlet Rappler.
That agreement has already been suspended.
The appointment of veteran election lawyer Garcia also stirred questions from social media users and election watchdogs. Among the prominent cases he handled as a law practitioner is the poll protest of current presidential aspirant and survey frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in 2016.
Appeals on legal challenges against Marcos’ presidential bid are currently pending before the Comelec en banc.
But the newly-appointed poll commissioner has earlier said he will recuse from proceedings on cases involving individuals he served as legal counsels.
"If there are cases that even if I am not handling now, but have been my clients before or I have had a relationship on a professional capacity, I’m going to take no part," he said partly in Filipino.
Comelec chief Pangarungan also vowed that the "sanctity of the vote" shall be the Commission’s guiding principle.
"We will honor and protect the Constitution in every decision we pen, in every program and project we undertake, and even in every single vote we count," he added. — Kristine Joy Patag