Fellows
Speak 1
Fellows Speak 2
What
is you reaction to the appointment of retired Supreme Court Associate
Justice Jose A.R. Melo as the new chair of the Commission on Elections
(Comelec)? Can he restore the poll body’s credibility?
Prof.
Roland Simbulan: Retired Justice Melo’s appointment
as chair of Comelec doesn’t necessarily make elections more
credible. What is important is that impersonal processes are put
in place, the elections are fully computerized to make election
results known the same day, and transparency of the whole process
is assured. The key, however, to clean the election is an enlightened
citizenry, who are vigilant of their rights.
Prof.
Sonny Querijero: If most reports (about Melo) are true,
there’s hope. But let’s give him one-and-a-half years
and see what he can do. If he can’t clean up Comelec, there
should be a process of recall. We should also look at how elections
can be credible as a whole, and not just depend on the mere appointment
of a new chair.
(Simbulan,
a CenPEG Senior Fellow, is the former Faculty Regent of the University
of the Philippines, while Querijero is with the Institute of Development
Management and Governance of UP Los Banos, Laguna.) |
