By Artemio V. Panganiban
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–The resignation of Benjamin Abalos Sr. highlights the need for a new credible head of the Commission on Elections. Aside from the chair, however, there is another vacancy in the seven-member commission. And come Feb. 2, 2008, two more commissioners (Resurreccion Borra and Florentino Tuason) will retire, thereby presaging a full leadership change.

Some preliminaries. At the outset, let me tackle a few housekeeping legalities. Sec. 2 of Article IX (C) of the Constitution says, “Appointment to any vacancy (in the Comelec) shall be only for the unexpired term of the predecessor.” So, an appointee to the chairmanship now will hold office only until Feb. 2, 2007 when Abalos’ original term expires. The chair to be appointed after Feb. 2 shall serve the regular term of seven years, from 2008 to 2015. Nonetheless, the chair who may be named now cannot be reappointed to the seven-year term beginning in February 2008 because the Constitution bars “re-appointments.”

For the same reason, none of the present commissioners can be appointed chair (”Matibag vs Benipayo,” Apr. 2, 2002). In the meantime however, the incumbent members may designate one from among themselves to be an “officer in charge,” as they have already done.

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By Dona Pazzibugan
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol will soon be charged with electoral sabotage for losing the municipal election results in the province during the May senatorial elections.

Resurreccion Borra, who took over as acting Commission on Elections chairman following Benjamin Abalos Sr.’s resignation, told a Senate budget hearing last week that the poll body would pursue filing criminal charges against Bedol.

Borra and Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Florentino Tuason and Romeo Brawner appeared before Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, chairman of the Senate finance committee and Miriam Defensor-Santiago, to appeal for no further cuts to the Comelec’s proposed P4.3 billion-budget for next year.

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By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Acting poll chief Resurreccion Borra has warned the public against taking lightly the importance and the level of rivalry in the upcoming barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) elections on October 29.

“Let’s not underestimate [these] elections because it will be hotly contested. Brothers will run against brothers; fathers against sons; relatives against neighbors. All do not want to lose and amor propio or pride will not create the atmosphere conducive to a free, fair, and intelligent elections,” he told reporters at the Senate shortly before the start of the hearing on the Comelec’s budget.

Borra, who took over the helm of the Commission on Elections following the resignation of erstwhile chairman Benjamin Abalos, said the poll body will hold a command conference with the military and the policemen next Wednesday in Camp Crame to discuss the possible election hot spots or areas where violence may occur.

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By Richel Umel
Inquirer

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines–The special Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBoC) of Lanao del Norte has proclaimed former Iligan City Councilor Vicente “Varf” Belmonte as the winning congressional candidate for the province’s first district, including this city.

Belmonte’s proclamation on Wednesday came after the second division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila finished the canvassing of the certificates of canvass (CoCs) from the district, which also includes the towns of Linamon, Kauswagan, Bacolod, Kolambugan, Maigo, Tubod and Baroy.

Belmonte, of the United Opposition, garnered a total vote of 60,054 over his closest rivals, Angelique Badelles of Kampi (Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino or Partner of the Free Filipino), who took 46,630 votes, and former Lanao del Norte governor Imelda Dimaporo of Lakas, who got 44,343 votes.

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By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–“That’s his karma.”

This was how lawyer Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III described the controversy hounding Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos regarding the allegedly anomalous national broadband network project.

According to dictionary.com, karma is “the action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation.”

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By Christian V. Esguerra, Alcuin Papa

View the NBN contract and related documents

MANILA, Philippines–One man’s scandal can be another man’s excuse.

The controversy hounding Commission on Elections Chair Benjamin Abalos Sr. has given congressmen yet another reason to justify their move to postpone next month’s barangay (vilage) and youth elections.

Davao Rep. Prospero Nograles Wednesday urged senators to support the House bill resetting the elections to May 2009 if only to allow Abalos to concentrate on his “defense” in the $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) project.

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MAY 29, 2009 will be very close to the 2010 presidential election.

That would be a good justification to postpone it again, perhaps to coincide with the 2010 elections. Meaning, no new faces in those mostly squatter barangay halls. Meaning, the pretty well-greased barangay gentlemen will implement the orders from the chain of command. All these made possible on the walking orders of the Lower House.

What will stop the fifth column of the administration from any advance is our Senate, hopefully.

– Valdemar B Tamayo, Kamuning, Quezon City (via e-mail)

THE SK [Sangguniang Kabataan] should be abolished. If the idea is to train the youth to be leaders, a law should be passed to strengthen instead the schools’ student councils. This way the students will be able to apply their learning and skills among their peers.

Barangay polls must proceed — this is the only means to change errant barangay leaders. We need to change most of these barangay officials knowing how ineffective they are in governing and administering to the needs of their constituents.

We should not be again experiencing their inadequacies [in] tend[ing] to our needs. All we can see are barangay halls that have never given any good administration to the citizenry.

– Raul Loreto, Novaliches, Quezon City

HERE’S a video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Veronica Uy at the Senate.

For more video clips from INQUIRER.net, visit iVDO.

By Jerome Aning
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–The Commission on Elections on Saturday scored the lawyer of former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol for saying that the latter’s camp expected the poll body to uphold its earlier decision to convict Bedol for contempt.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said Bedol’s lawyer Andrei Tagum showed his contempt for the Comelec after he admitted that Bedol was “half-expecting” the Comelec to junk his motion for reconsideration.

“If we go by the history of the commission, I don’t think they have ever reversed their decision because that would be an admission that they erred,” Tagum was quoted as saying in media reports.

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