Litmus test: 2 new commissioners to supervise ARMM polls

BY GERARD NAVAL

SO you want them to prove their worth and independence? You now have a chance to see what they’re made of.

Newly appointed Comelec commissioners Lucenito Tagle and Leonardo Leonida were appointed yesterday commissioners-in-charge of the August 11 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), hours after taking their oath.

"Matagal na naming hinihintay itong mga bagong commissioners. Hindi pa iinit ang upuan nila ipapadala na natin sila sa Mindanao," Comelec chair Jose Melo said.

Their assignments as commissioners-in-charge (CICs) will be reviewed since the six ARMM provinces have been assigned to commissioners Moslemen Macarambon, Nicodemo Ferrer and Rene Sarmiento.

The ARMM provinces are Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Shariff Kabunsuan.

Tagle and Leonida said the ARMM elections would be their "litmus test."

Tagle said: "I think I can help a lot in improving elections. I come to the commission bringing with me integrity and credibility. I think those two are very important."

"Ang eleksyon kasi sa Pilipinas ay medyo talagang magulo. Baka pwede nating ayusin… eto lamang ang dala ko, ang hope na mapaganda ang ating eleksyon," said Leonida.

Both denied having done any favors for the administration.

"This came as a surprise although I heard I was nominated by several religious and non-government organizations," Tagle said, citing the Rotary Club of Manila and Knights of Columbus as among his supporters.

Tagle was a former associate justice at the Court of Appeals. He also had experience as a judge at a regional trial court in Imus, Cavite for 14 years.

He described his appointment as a "homecoming" as he served as a contractual lawyer in the commission in 1960.

Leonida believes his appointment is the "apex of his legal career" as he was the one who applied for the position.

"If you are a lawyer, this is something you aspire for being part of something like the Comelec," Leonida said.

Leonida said he was happy with endorsements coming from certain groups although he cannot remember their names.

Leonida was acting RTC judge in Malabon prior to his appointment.

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) is wondering how the appointment process was done, considering that Leonida and Tagle are relatively unknown even to the election watchdogs.

"That’s the element of surprise. Saan nanggaling yan? Sino kaya ang nag-nominate? At ano ba ang kanilang prosesong ginamit?" said PPCRV chair Henrietta de Villa in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas.

She said the two were definitely not in the short list submitted by civil society and election watchdog groups to the Malacañang-created search committee, unlike Melo.

Rep. Edno Joson (Ind., Nueva Ecija) said the fielding of Tagle and Leonida in Mindanao has fueled fears that the administration is already moving to ensure victory in the 2010 elections.

"Siyempre (they are) tying up loose ends for 2010 or OJT (on-the-job training) uli para maplantsa na ang gagawin sa 2010," he said.

Joson said the assignments in Sulu and Shariff Kabunsuan have raised more questions about their appointments because those areas are notoriously known for the massive cheating in the 2004 elections, which was allegedly spearheaded by then Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros said, "That they (new commissioners) are really unknown is unsettling. Why couldn’t known advocates have been appointed?"

Senate majority leader Francis Pangilinan dared the two new commissioners to give their best performance in the ARMM to show there’s still hope in the country’s electoral democracy.

"If you fail to perform, we can all kiss our electoral democracy goodbye," Pangilinan said.

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel wants President Arroyo to explain why she ignored the list of nominees submitted by the Palace search committee and poll watch organizations.

Pimentel said the public is entitled to know why President Arroyo chose the two, instead of choosing from the list of nominees prepared by the search committee and the poll watch groups.

The nominees were UE College of Law Dean Amado Valdez, Persida Acosta, head of the Public Attorney’s Office, chief state prosecutor Jovencito Zuño, lawyer Howard Calleja, former Sen. Rene Saguisag and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez. – With Dennis Gadil