Press Release
September 28, 2011

Cayetano to Sixto: How can there be reforms in
Comelec if he expects scalawags to be the implementers?

Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano expressed serious doubts whether Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes can institute reforms as he pledged for as long as the Comelec officials who were implicated in various scams in the past remain in their sensitive posts.

"How can there be reforms in Comelec if the scalawags are the ones assigned to implement these?" he asked.

The senator said the chairman could not even point to any single major reform in the agency that has impressed the people that finally a credible Comelec is in the making .

He also pointed out that the Comelec chief has yet to adequately respond to allegations of former Comelec law department head Ferdinand Rafanan regarding his unethical conduct.

"I'm not saying that Director Rafanan is right. But the allegations he brought up against Chairman Brillantes are very serious to be ignored or to be taken lightly. We really have to get to the bottom of this," he said.

The minority leader urged groups advocating clean and honest elections to come forward and air their thoughts on the allegations and his appointment.

He also urged Chairman Brillantes to use the time before the next Commission on Appointments (CA) confirmation hearing scheduled on October 5 to directly address these issues and to make a stand.

"If Brillantes is the man to reform Comelec, okay. But he has to show us why and how he can do it," he said.

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