New poll commissioners assume office

Having gotten the nod of the Commission on Appointments, two new poll commissioners on Thursday assumed office with a vow to ensure clean and honest elections.

Commissioners Elias R. Yusoph and Gregorio Y. Larrazabal took their oath of office before Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) chairman Jose Melo early Thursday at the agency’s main office in Intramuros, Manila.

“Personally, I (want to) be sure that the automation of the elections will be smooth and orderly. This is the first time we will have automated elections for the whole Philippines and in fact, once this will be successful, we will be a model for other countries across the world," said Larrazabal after reciting the oath.

Yusoph said that while commissioners play key roles in the polls, it’s still the cooperation of voters that matters most.

“Well, the Commission is bent on implementing the automation law, and we need the help of the Filipino people to have a clean, honest, and credible election," the new commissioner told reporters.

Yusoph replaced retired commissioner Resurreccion Borra and will serve until February 2, 2015. The 58-year-old lawyer had served as a deputized Tanod-Bayan prosecutor under the DOJ since 1979.

Last February, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo decided to select Yusoph – a Muslim – to show the government’s commitment in giving the Muslim community representation in the poll body.

He also said that Yusoph was appointed because he was recommended by the Bishop-Ulama Conference, an organization of bishops and Muslim scholars headed by Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla.

Shorter term

On the other hand, Melo said it’s the 38-year-old Larrazabal who would be serving a shorter term among the two.

“You know Commissioner Larrazabal is only 38 years old, but he has the shortest term among all of us, by 2011 he will be retired, but he still gets full pay," the Comelec chief said.

Larrazabal, who is also a lawyer, will only complete the remaining term of Romeo Brawner, who died of cardiac arrest in May 2008. Larrazabal was named to the seat after the Commission on Appointments (CA) twice bypassed the nomination of Leonardo Leonida, who was originally named to fill the slot vacated by Brawner.

Last June, the President appointed both Leonida and Yusoph to the Comelec while the House of Representatives was in recess. But Leonida was not anymore reappointed by Arroyo after his ad interim appointment expired.

And although Melo previously said that there is “no need" to fill the seventh seat of the commission, Ermita said Larrazabal’s appointment was made to enable the poll body to work “in full" while preparing for the 2010 elections.

The new commissioner pointed out that his short-term appointment is not part of any political maneuver. “I am just here to assist the commission in ensuring that the 2010 are smooth and orderly," he said.

In fact, he said, his presence represents the people in Comelec’s regional offices. Larrazabal was regional election director for the Western Visayas before his appointment to the main office.

On Wednesday, the CA approved without much question the appointments of Larrazabal and Yusoph. - GMANews.TV