Non-partisan Comelec

For those eyeing to run for barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections on May 14, you have until office hours today to file your individual certificates of candidacy (CoCs) at the offices of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) all around the country. Many aspirants are expected to beat the deadline for those with typical Filipino mentality of doing things on last-minute.

As of close of office hours at five o’clock in the afternoon last Wednesday, Comelec official spokesman James Jimenez disclosed a total of 643,363 CoCs have been filed and processed by the poll body. Of the aggregate figure, 57,528 CoCs were filed by candidates seeking to run as barangay chairman while 404,539 are seeking seats as barangay kagawad. For the SK elections, 39,363 CoCs were filed for chairman and 141,933 were for SK kagawad. By profile, the candidates were mostly male.

“As we speak, April 20 is the last day of filing and there will be no extension,” Jimenez announced during our Kapihan sa Manila Bay. Jimenez along with former Comelec Commissioner Gregorio “Goyo” Larrazabal were our featured guests during our Kapihan sa Manila Bay that we hold every Wednesday at Cafe Adriatico in Malate, Manila. 

Based on the Comelec schedule, the poll body has to come out with the official list of candidates two weeks after the last day of filing of CoCs. During the two-week period, the Comelec national head office in Intramuros, Manila will go through each and every CoC as processed already by their respective election officers/registrars to weed out and disqualify “red flag” candidates, Jimenez clarified.  

But the campaign period starts only on May 4 up to May 12. 

While there was a frenzy to file CoCs last Wednesday which fell on the 18th of April 2018 by those who believe on feng shui lucky numbers, the National Youth Council (NYC) noted with concern a very low turnout of SK candidates. Under Republic Act (RA) 10742, or the SK Reform Act, Filipinos aged 18 to 24 are qualified to run for SK chairperson or council members. But ages 15 years old up to 30 years old are qualified to vote.

The last SK polls were held in October 2010 after being postponed twice already, in 2013 and in 2016. There are more than 350,000 positions at stake for SK officials. The NYC, headed by former SK elected leaders themselves, however, could not offer an explanation on the seeming lack of interest among Filipino millennials. Many of these incumbent SK officials are perhaps over-aged already after their terms extended twice already.

For the first time, the SK polls taking place next month would serve as the test-run of RA 10742. Signed in 2016, this was the first law that would implement the anti-political dynasty rule as mandated in our country’s 1987 Constitution. Those with relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity who currently occupy an elective local or national position are prohibited from seeking SK posts.

The barangay elections, like the SK polls, were also twice postponed. The last barangay elections were held in 2013. It was postponed in 2016 after President Duterte expressed concern about the rampant involvement of barangay officials into illegal drugs. Upon the prodding of the President, the 17th Congress postponed anew the holding of barangay elections last year and reset them this year.

 With only four Comelec commissioners on board for the past several weeks, the seven-man poll body has been hobbled by the enormity of their preparations for the upcoming barangay and SK elections. This situation raised much concern on how the Comelec could possibly conduct credible and orderly barangay and SK polls nationwide.

With no one seems to be in-charge at the poll body, who’s minding the store?

“Protocol dictates the Comelec chairman is in-charge, or the en banc designates a commissioner-in-charge to provide direction and leadership,” Larrazabal pointed out.

This was most felt after the forced resignation of ex-Comelec chairman Andres Bautista in December last year. While waiting for the appointment of a new Comelec chairman, Christian Lim who was the most senior of the remaining six commissioners took over as “acting” chairman.

It took President Rodrigo Duterte only last February to “nominate” Comelec commissioner Sheriff Abas to take over as Comelec chairman replacing Bautista.

President Duterte merely made the nomination – not an appointment – since this will require Abas to resign as commissioner of the Comelec. This would further cripple the Comelec because the seven-year term of Lim along with fellow Comelec commissioner Arthur Lim also expired at the same day last February.

In the meantime, the Comelec has been busy attending to the barangay and SK elections with only four remaining commissioners on board. They were namely: Abas, Al Parreño, Luie Tito Guia and Rowena Guanzon.

The poll body finally got a much-needed boost in the arm, so to speak. While moderating our weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay the other day, The STAR got confirmation from A-1 sources about the recent appointment of a new Comelec commissioner. Without the usual fanfare, President Duterte appointed retired Court of Appeals associate justice Succoro Inting to fill one of the three vacant commissioner posts at the Comelec. Like President Duterte, Inting comes from Davao City where she finished her law degree at Ateneo de Davao University in 1980.

Apparently, Inting is known very well to the former Davao City Mayor. Inting, like the President, was also a former prosecutor for quite a while. She rose through the ranks in the judiciary and her last stint was associate justice at the 15th of the CA. Inting has no association with any political party. But she was more active in law associations.

It is less than a month to go before the holding of the barangay and SK polls. The Chief Executive needs to fill the remaining two vacancies at the Comelec. With the Filipino voters again using manual system of voting and counting which are more susceptible to human interventions, non-partisan Comelec commissioners are most welcome.