GORDON ASKS FOR TRANSPARENCY IN COMELEC SELECTION PROCESS

Senator Richard Gordon challenged the national government to publish the complete list of 56 possible nominees for the position of chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

"The search committee created by Malacanang should be transparent in choosing nominees to fill the vacancies in the Comelec. We need people in the Comelec who can move fast and decide cases faster. We need people with experience, credibility, integrity and people who can have a tight rein on Comelec people, especially people like Garcillano and Bedol." Gordon said.

Gordon added that In choosing new Comelec commissioners, the government and the people comprising the selection committee created by Malacanang should be guided first and foremost by the country's need to modernize its electoral process. "Otherwise, you can just get anybody - so long as he or she doesn't have a backbone and has no qualms about selling our people's right to suffrage wholesale."

"The ability to implement the Automated Election Law or RA 9369 should be a key criterion in selecting replacements for Commissioners Benjamin Abalos, Rex Borra, and Florentino Tuason," he insisted.

Gordon emphasized that the Comelec needs energetic, young commissioners who are savvy in information technology because we have an antiquated election system that has been begging for modernization since 1998.

."There are so many things that you need to fix in the Comelec. Number one is its pride problem - it suffers from an absolute lack of pride. The Comelec's reputation as an independent arbiter is riddled with holes and yet it is in charge of the most basic, fundamental right of our people."