THE Commission on Elections is reduced to a four-man collegial body in the absence of a permanent chairman and two commissioners following the retirement of acting chairman Christian Robert Lim and commissioner Arthur Lim on Friday.
“The women and men of the Comelec extend our sincerest thanks and wish them the greatest success in their future endeavors” said Comelec spokesman and Education and Information chief James Arthur Jimenez.
Commissioner Lim headed the poll body’s Office for Filipino Overseas Voting and the Project Management Office of two automated national and local elections in 2013 and 2016.
Jimenez said under the leadership of Commissioner Lim, and “owing to his dedication, the roll of overseas voters breached the 1 million mark in time for the 2016 National and Local Elections.”
Chairperson Lim, on the other hand, was named acting chairman first, following the retirement of then chairman Sixto Brillantes, and then again after the resignation of former chairman Andres Bautista, according to Jimenez.
“Both Chairperson Lim and Commissioner Lim are highly respected and much admired, not just within the Comelec, but also by the broader Elections community. Their exemplary service to the nation will always stand as an inspiration to those who follow,” Jimenez said.
At present, the poll body has four active members—Sheriff Abas, Rowena Guanzon, Luie Tito Guia and Al Parreño, who was designated chairman in an acting capacity by the Commission en banc.
Abas was appointed Comelec chairman in November to replace Andres Bautista and reappointed on Jan. 16 after the Commission on Appointments failed to act on his nomination last year.
The CA must first approve his nomination before he can assume office as poll chief.
President Rodrigo Duterte needs to appoint new members to complete the 7-man election body.
The Comelec is optimistic that a permanent chairman and new poll commissioners will be appointed before the start of the campaign period for barangay and youth council elections this year, or 2019 mid-term polls.
“The concern with an incomplete complement of commissioners is that there will be a lot of pressure on the remaining to always constitute a quorum,” said Jimenez.
“The work of the Comelec is not just confined in Intramuros. So to get a quorum, it might pose some problem at work. As a general, the most ideal situation would be for vacancies to be filled up as soon as possible earlier rather than later,” he added.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called on President Duterte to immediately appoint new members of the Comelec to ensure undisrupted preparations for the upcoming elections.
“The Commission can’t afford to lose precious time as we are nearing the Baranggay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in May and the midterm national polls next year. It is only through a complete and functioning election body that the rigorous demands of its preparations can be eased,” said Gatchalian. “I believe the speedy appointment of new commissioners is critically needed here.”
He added that their bulk of work might also include the handling of possible plebiscites given the ongoing political discourse on charter change as well as the push for the Bangsamoro Basic Law in Congress.