Public vetting of Comelec commissioners pushed

MANILA, Philippines — There should be a public vetting of the four Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials who would step in to replace the poll body’s chairman and three commissioners months before the May 2022 elections, a former Comelec chief said.?
Speaking to the “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News Thursday, former Comelec chairman Christian Monsod stressed the importance of public vetting and suggested that the screening of incoming Comelec officials be broadcast live.
Monsod said this particular vetting of four Comelec officials is important because they would constitute the majority of the poll body’s members – all appointed by President Duterte before he ends his term after the May 2022 elections.
Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas is set to retire in February 2022 – three months before the elections – along with Commissioners Rowena Guanzon and Antonio Kho Jr. One other top vacancy in the Comelec has yet to be filled up after Michael Peloton failed to secure the Commission on Appointments’ nod.
Monsod said that it is the right of the Filipino people to know what the capabilities of the Comelec officials being appointed by Duterte are.
He said the Comelec can be considered as the most powerful agency and the Comelec chairman the most powerful person, at least 125 days before the 2022 elections and 30 days after that, because not even the President has the power to intervene with the Comelec during that timeframe when the leadership of the country for the next six years is at stake.
“What are the implications and what are the undesirable consequences of putting the wrong persons there? They (public) must understand that this (Comelec) is a very powerful agency of the government for about 150 days and a lot of things can happen there,” Monsod said.
He said that the country will be assured of transparent and clean elections if non-partisan members of the Comelec are appointed, as he cited Duterte’s previous pronouncements like deputizing the military if the situation calls for it and proposing authoritarian powers and revolutionary form of government.
He explained that such declarations are under the power of the Comelec during the 150-day election period. The Comelec has yet to respond to Monsod’s proposal.?
List of candidates
?Yesterday, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said they have already published the tentative list of candidates for the May 2022 national and elections, which can be accessed on the poll body’s official website.
“All aspirants are advised to check that their name is on the list and is spelled correctly. You have a limited window within which to submit your request for corrections,” Jimenez said on his official Twitter account @jabjimenez.
Jimenez said that aspiring candidates in the Comelec’s initial list have until Nov. 8 to submit their requests for correction of typographical errors in their listed names, while a list of candidates for House of Representatives for the National Capital Region (NCR) will be made available soon.
A 15-page list of candidates issued by the Comelec showed that there are 97 aspiring presidents for the 2022 polls, 28 vice presidential aspirants and 174 senatorial bets. The names of candidates appeared in alphabetical order.
Jimenez said in a recent interview with ‘The Chiefs’ said they are now in the process of identifying COC filers who would be declared as nuisance bets for the 2022 elections.
He said the list will be finalized after the Nov. 15 deadline for substitution.??
Absentee voters
Meanwhile, registered voters qualified for absentee voting can file their application no later than March 7, 2022 at 38 different offices of the Comelec nationwide, giving them the opportunity to cast their ballots ahead of the elections on May 9.
In a 21-page resolution, the Comelec said that government officials and employees, including members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the media are qualified to apply for local absentee voting as they will perform duties on election day.
Applications can be filed in the cities of Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Manila, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, Valenzuela and the municipality of Pateros.
Interested absentee voters can also file their application in the cities of Angeles, Bacolod, Baguio, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, General Santos, Iligan, Iloilo, Lapu-Lapu, Lucena, Mandaue, Olongapo, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban and Zamboanga.
The Comelec said that residents from independent cities such as Cotabato, Naga, Ormoc and Santiago can also file their applications.
Under the Comelec resolution, individuals who will apply for local absentee voting are only allowed to cast their ballots for national positions such as president, vice president, senators and party-list representatives ahead of the May 2022 national and local elections.
The Comelec resolution on absentee voting is accessible on its official website.
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