Pangasinan town fetes Ferrer's Comelec appointment

BINMALEY, Pangasinan — From dishwasher to mayoralty aspirant to regional trial court judge to Sandiganbayan justice, Nicodemo Ferrer has come a long way.

The 74-year-old retired justice was recently appointed as commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) by President Arroyo to complete the seven-man commission.

Ferrer, who is from Mabini St. here, stands out among his townmates as a man of integrity with an untarnished reputation, both in his private and public life.

He was feted with a testimonial dinner last Saturday by the municipal government here led by Mayor Simplicio Rosario.

The mayor and the municipal council members presented a resolution sponsored by Councilor Leo Urmaza congratulating Ferrer for "bringing honor and glory to his hometown with his recent appointment and for serving as an inspiration to Binmaleynians."

"President Arroyo made the right choice because Commissioner Ferrer is the epitome of Mr. Clean," Rosario said.

A son of Andres Ferrer who had served as mayor (then called Presidente Municipal) here, Nicodemo dreamed of following his father’s footsteps. He ran twice for mayor but lost with only 700 and 400 votes margin from the winner, respectively.

The town priest, the late Rev. Fr. Leo Behnecke, reportedly told him," Son, maybe God has better plans for you."

Ferrer finished his law degree at the University of the Philippines and has instead made a career in the judiciary.

"As a judge, I learned to live within my means and never to accept anything from anybody," he said.

Ferrer was a Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge for seven and a half years in Baguio-Benguet where his fellow Comelec commissioner Romeo Brawner used to be his fellow RTC judge. He retired at the age of 70 as Sandiganbayan justice.

Ferrer admits that Comelec is suffering from a bad image but appealed to his townmates to adopt an open mind about it.