Melo upbeat about President, VP proclamation by June 15

Despite the tedious hearings on poll fraud, Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Jose Melo on Thursday said he is confident that the joint session of the Congress will be able to proclaim the winners for the position of president and vice president before June 15. "Ako, I'm optimistic na before the 15th matatapos nila yan... mga matitinong tao naman yun (I'm optimistic that they will finish before the 15th … since they are responsible people)," Melo told reporters in a chance interview. But the poll body chief admitted that some candidates might attempt to delay the canvassing of votes and the proclamation of the top two positions. However, he said they won't get away with it. "I don't think pababayaan sila ng panel... gusto rin naman nila matapos na (I don't think the panel will let them do that, since it also wants to finish everything)," he said. The Senate's nine-man panel is composed of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and Senators Rodolfo Biazon, Alan Peter Cayetano, Gregorio Honasan II, Edgardo Angara, Ramon Revilla Jr., and Joker Arroyo. On the part of the House, the nine-man panel is composed of House Speaker Prospero Nograles as chairman, majority leader Arthur Defensor, minority leader Ronaldo Zamora, senior deputy majority leader Neptali Gonzales II, senior deputy minority leader Roilo Golez, Reps. Crispin Remulla (Cavite), Didagen Dilangalen (Shariff Kabunsuan with Cotabato City), Jack Duavit (Rizal) and Matias Defensor (Quezon City). Earlier, Angara said that the proclamation of the winning vice president might be delayed because of questions that might be raised about the authenticity of the certificates of canvass. Melo, however, dismissed Angara’s worries outright. "Di mangyayari yun (That won’t happen)," he said. Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, for his part, said that it is up to the Congress to decide when to proclaim the president and vice president. Article 7, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution requires a joint session of the Congress to canvass the votes and proclaim the winners for the presidential and vice presidential races not later than 30 days after the elections. The position of vice president is being tightly contested by Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and Senator Manuel Roxas II. On the other hand, the presidency will most probably be won by Senator Benigno Aquino III, who is ahead of former President Joseph Estrada by more than five million votes in unofficial tallies. —JV, GMANews.TV