If Sen. Panfilo Lacson is right, the selection of people to fill vacancies in the Commission on Elections is off to a bad start. Lacson has vowed to block the confirmation of Moslemen Macarambon Sr. as Comelec commissioner. Lacson said Macarambon, a regional trial court judge of Iligan City, is one of two individuals known for their closeness to former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. The other, Lacson said, is Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol.
Both Garcillano and Bedol have been accused of involvement in poll fraud. Bedol has disappeared after being found guilty of contempt by the Comelec. Macarambon has denied close ties with Garcillano, who supposedly endorsed to President Arroyo his appointment to the Comelec post.
Like pardoning plunderers, appointing a Comelec commissioner is a presidential prerogative. Unlike absolute pardon, however, a presidential appointment can be challenged by the legislature. This is where congressional oversight should come in. When an administration becomes notorious for insensitivity to public dissatisfaction, the legislature should wield its oversight powers.
The general elections are less than three years away. With all the election-related scandals that have erupted since 2005, serious efforts should be under way to prevent poll fraud. Much will depend on the new team that will be in place at the Comelec by early next year. A Comelec chairman has not yet been named. Two more commissioners are retiring within the next four months and must be replaced quickly.
This new team must clean up the voters’ list, make a fresh stab at poll automation and release voters’ identification cards. The new team should see to it that in the 2010 general elections, the state would be capable of enforcing a new law on electoral sabotage aside from earlier laws on poll fraud.
By the time the new team is in place, the Comelec should be making every effort to prevent a repeat of the vote-rigging scandals involving Garcillano and Bedol. If President Arroyo is determined to make allegations of election cheating part of her legacy, lawmakers have the power to prevent it. Congress should not hesitate to exercise that power.