Wednesday, May 23, 2007 Carvajal: Comelec revamp a must By Orlando P. Carvajal Break Point
THE smoke of battle has cleared to show a political landscape littered with the bodies of the losers. Many, however, did not lose the battle to their political opponents. They lost instead to the voters who this time wanted their will to get through the confusion and the chaos of all the cheating and scheming by politicians.
It has since become clear that two things are absolutely necessary for this country to have clean and honest elections. First is an educated and alert electorate and second is a competent and honest Comelec who could implement election laws professionally. We have evidence that we’re getting the first but unfortunately not the second.
We do not need any new law if we have a politically aware electorate. What we need is the strict and consistent implementation of existing election laws and the disqualification of all violators. The only new law that we could use is the law implementing the 1987 Constitution’s provision against political dynasties.
But even that is not half as important as having, first, an educated electorate, and second, a competent and honest Comelec. The first is evidently easier to come by than the second.
The call of the new day is, therefore, a revamp of the Comelec. It is quite obvious that the Comelec of Chairman Benjamin Abalos is even more mistrusted now than ever before.
The Comelec had all the powers it needed to conduct an orderly, peaceful, clean, and honest election. The Comelec did not use those powers effectively because election laws were not implemented fairly on all violators. Some in the Comelec, people presume, even connived with the cheating politicians.
Many politicians run for office in order to have the power to circumvent the laws of the land for the promotion of their vested interests. So far the Comelec has allowed these politicians to violate election laws to get them started on their abuse of power. This has got to stop if we are to be a country of laws. And this can stop if we appoint to the Comelec only people of known probity, professionalism and competence.
The Comelec takes offense at foreign criticism of the chaotic way the election was conducted. But why don’t they listen to local criticism? Why react to foreign observers when the locals know even worse things about the Comelec?
If there is any honor left in them they should all resign for loss of credibility. And if President Arroyo is really serious about righting our ship, she should consult the people on how and who to choose as members of this very crucial body called the Commission on Elections.
The Comelec must simply be revamped if a strong republic is to rise from the rubble of the latest political exercise.
