Comelec sets reg'l consultation for '07 polls
Amid speculations that the 2007 local and national elections will be postponed, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) flashed its green lights as it kicked off its pre-election activities here with its first regional pre-election consultative planning conference attended by about 150 election officers and supervisors from across Western Visayas and the commissioners en banc.
The message: there will be elections in 2007 as mandated by the Constitution and the process will still be manual and; the Comelec as an organization should improve their system, plug the holes and rise from a credibility crisis that has rocked the commission for a long time.
The first in a series of regional consultations and the first ever effected in the commission, the consultative planning conference spanned across issues that plague the Comelec ranging from low employee morale due to low salaries, inadequate and "antiquated" facilities and even the insufficiency of knowledge of election officers on election rules and procedures so they can carry out an effective voter education as well as decide promptly on issues that needs to be resolved during the course of the electoral exercise.
Plugging the holes
So, how would the 2007 elections be different from the past? Among a number of "firsts" that the Comelec will have this coming election, Commissioner Ressureccion Borra looks at two major important ingredients. The first he said is the full implementation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Comelec Officers and Employees and the second is the formulation of a Manual on Canvassing System.
Borra says that there is now a draft Code of Conduct specific to Comelec and this is one of the documents being validated and refined through the regional consultations. Borra says that even as there is an existing RA 6713 or Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials, there is still a need to adopt norms of conduct precise to Comelec personnel because of the distinctive nature of its duties and responsibilities -- as "Guardians and enforcers of the sovereign will of the people." The Comelec he says performs administrative, judicial and quasi-judicial functions and its "personnel should therefore be guided by the highest standards of integrity, honesty, accountability, impartiality and transparency."
On the other hand, Borra also said that the Manual on Canvassing will be a quick reference guide or bible for election officers. Borra explained that most of Comelec's election officers are not lawyers and yet they are to decide or make judgement on legal issues during the canvass of votes. "Our EOs are bamboozled by veteran lawyers come election time and we want to equip and empower them so that they can resolve issues swiftly and with authority because they have a ready basis for their decisions."
The Manual on Canvassing says Borra covers issues for objections during the canvass of votes. These were drawn from the experiences of many years he said. Alongside these issues are the rulings that the Comelec had made in the past as well as citations on election jurisprudence.
Borra also said that this 2007, they will be closely monitoring developments in the various facets of the election process and would develop monitoring systems and exercise their "visitorial rights" if only to ensure a level playing field for the candidates as well as ensure that voters were not deprived of their right to choose their candidates.