Preparing the Comelec for the next polls

I read the news report that 20 months before the May 2022 local and national polls, a lawyer and information technology expert has been nominated as the newest commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). This was in a statement released the other day by Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas who welcomed the appointment of Michael Braganza Peloton as replacement of former commissioner Luie Tito Guia, who retired on Feb. 2. Abas confirmed the nomination of Peloton, a Davao City-based lawyer.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said, “We are confident that Mr. Peloton would serve the Commission with professionalism and integrity in the conduct of clean, credible, free, honest, orderly and modernized elections.” Meanwhile Sheriff Abas said Peloton is “a timely addition to the Commission en banc as his vast experience in the field of law and information technology will highly contribute in our thrust to further improve and revolutionize our electoral process.”

The official noted Peloton “joins the Comelec at an exciting and challenging time, as we have already started preparations for the 2022 national and local elections in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic.” “He will complement the existing members of the Commission en banc as we continue to strive to fulfill Comelec’s mandate in strengthening and advancing our democracy.” Based on his appointment paper signed by President Duterte, Peloton will serve for seven years or until Feb. 2, 2027.

There is no doubt in my mind that this appointment by a Davao-based lawyer is someone who is known to President Duterte. I’m not saying that Pres. Duterte is making sure that the Comelec would favor his candidates by appointing someone not known in Manila. However, I would like to say this -- that I find it very strange that the Duterte administration has openly declared war against corruption but when former Comelec chief Andres Bautista suddenly vanished after his public squall with his wife Trish who revealed certain evidence of his corruption, not a single person in the government has demanded a full-blown investigation against Bautista.

Here we are preparing the Comelec for the coming elections but if we do not get into the bottom of the mess that Bautista has done, then there is a huge chance that this would be repeated again in the next elections. At this point, there are many who question the electronic system of the Comelec in collusion with Smartmatic as to why until today, we really have not resolved the election of the Vice President in 2016? So who really won the vice presidential derby, Leni Robredo or Bongbong Marcos? Mind you, this is the biggest question in the mind of the Filipino people, next to the question of when the Covid-19 vaccine will arrive on our shores.

So I dare say and challenge the Duterte administration to dig into the mess that Comelec Chairman Andy Bautista created just to prove to the Filipino nation that, indeed, President Duterte’s fight against corruption is thorough and complete and spares no one, especially politicians who benefited from it.

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Incidentally, I read in the local news that my good friend, Assistant Secretary Anthony Gerard “Jonji” Gonzales of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), said he thinks it’s too early to lift the quarantine classifications in the country, particularly in the Visayas region. He made the remarks on the heels of the call of former DOH secretary Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan and the rest of the Concerned Doctors and Citizens of the Philippines to President Duterte the lifting of quarantine protocols in the country for the economy’s sake.

As Dr. Tan pointed out, Thailand, for one, has no complete lockdown, yet their cases are low. He added that the President should instead adopt a national protocol for the prophylaxis or prevention and early treatment of Covid-19 as an alternative to community quarantines. Prophylaxis means preventive healthcare or measures taken for disease prevention.

CDC-PH also launched #FlattenTheFear campaign during a press conference in Pasig City late last week where its members expressed opposition to the enforcement of more lockdowns and pushed for the country’s return to normal. However, I must fully agree with the thoughts of Jonji who said, “I think it’s too early. In areas where there were no local transmissions during stricter quarantine protocols, now we’re seeing cases rising.”

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