House opposition leaders are counting on the newly appointed Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials to ensure clean, fair, and honest elections next year by “being independent and not beholden” to the interest of the Aquino administration or any political party.
Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who heads the House Independent Bloc; and Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares dared Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista and Commissioners Rowena Guanzon and Sheriff Abas to prove their independence and exhaust all means to avert manual elections on May 9, 2016.
“They should be independent and not beholden to the self-interests of the ruling administration and anybody, especially to the powerful and wealthy politicians. The challenge is enormous and they will face that along the way. We need someone who will outspokenly challenge the possible no-election scenario. They should work very hard to avert that,” Romualdez, a lawyer and president of the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa), said.
With the vacuum filled, the Comelec should start flexing its muscles to sort out the mess after the Supreme Court (SC) nullified the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines repair deal with Smartmatic-TIM.
Colmenares agreed with Romualdez, calling on the newly appointed Comelec officials to ensure automated polls in 2016.
Manila Bulletin
