Comelec panel probing lapses in barangay polls bugged on report

MANILA, Philippines - The fact-finding panel created by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to investigate delays in the Oct. 25 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls is expected to submit its report before the year ends.

Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said they have been bugging Commissioner Armando Velasco, head of the panel, to speed up the submission of the report.

Sarmiento noted that Comelec Chairman Jose Melo’s resignation takes effect on Jan. 31 while Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer and Gregorio Larrazabal are retiring on Feb. 2 so they want the report soon.

 “It will lose its essence if the report is submitted (when these officials are no longer here). So we asked him (Velasco) to finish and submit it soon,” he added.

Barangay and SK elections in 2,463 barangays were postponed due to the late delivery of election returns, canvassing forms and other election paraphernalia.

Sources previously told The STAR that some Comelec employees had allegedly deliberately messed up the packaging of the election paraphernalia so they would not be included in the supplies that were to be delivered by forwarders contracted by the poll body.

In the end, the employees themselves were allegedly the ones who made the delivery, allowing them to get up to P50,000 in cash advances. They were also the ones who allegedly decided how to dispense the budget.

The panel was created last Oct. 25 and was given 15 days to investigate but it asked for an extension, citing the voluminous documents and records that it had to go through.