CA bypasses Brillantes' appointment as Comelec chief

The powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday bypassed the confirmation of the appointment of Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Sixto Brillantes. Brillantes' appointment was technically bypassed after the CA committee on constitutional commissions and offices deferred the hearing of his appointment to August 9 after Congress resumes session. The panel's chairman, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, said there is a need to conduct another hearing because they ran out of time for the day and Senate Minority Floor Leader Alan Peter Cayetano still had several questions for Brillantes. Congress will adjourn its session sine die Wednesday. Election anomalies During the day's hearing, Cayetano asked Brillantes regarding the infallibility of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines and the supposed existence of “operators" within the Comelec. He even showed videos of Brillantes admitting in interviews that there were indeed anomalies in the Comelec. Cayetano also asked Brillantes regarding the existence of a "notorious" commissioner in the poll body, although he did not identify the official. Brillantes admitted that he had been criticizing the poll body's second division when he was still a practicing election lawyer, and that the notorious commissioner he was referring to had already retired. Cayetano also asked him about why regional director Ray Sumalipao was still in office despite his alleged connection with former Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, who was accused of rigging the results of the 2004 elections to favor then presidential candidate Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Sumalipao had denied the allegation. Brillantes, for his part, said they had intended to shuffle the Comelec officials later this year for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections, but Congress approved the bill postponing the elections to 2013. Cayetano had earlier said he intended to but failed to ask the Comelec chief why he "seems to be" in favor of manual elections, which he said is very vulnerable to cheating. He specifically cited a recent Comelec decision stating that it will be switching to a manual recount of ballots and Brillantes' previous statement that the ARMM elections will be conducted manually. He had also earlier said that he will ask regarding Brillantes' alleged attempt to blackmail him in exchange for his confirmation. Birthday gift Brillantes admitted that he was not happy that his confirmation was deferred twice. "Siyempre nalulungkot ako... gusto ko sana matapos na rin. Sana naman maawa na sila sa akin (Of course I'm sad, I also want this to end. I hope they take pity on me)," he told reporters after the hearing. He noted, however, that it is his responsibility to undergo the confirmation process. "It's part of the Constitutional process. (You are an) ad interim appointee, you have to accept the consequences of that ad interim appointment," he said. "I have to face all of these things. I just have to be patient about it," he added. But he said he hopes that the CA would give the confirmation as a gift for his birthday on August 14. "I hope that I will be able to be confirmed by that time para maganda-ganda naman ang birthday ko (so that my birthday will be better)," he said. Brillantes served as counsel to retired Associate Justice Dante Tinga, who filed an electoral protest against Cayetano's wife for supposedly cheating in the May 2010 elections. Tinga and Cayetano’s wife were rivals for the mayoralty of Taguig City. Cayetano had earlier said that he will stop opposing Brillantes' appointment if he provides "answers that will satisfy us that he will be a good chairman." - KBK, GMA News