NEW Commission on Elections chief Saidamen Balt Pangarungan yesterday said the poll body will be independent ahead of the May 9 national and local polls.
Speaking during the formal ceremony welcoming him at the Comelec Session Hall, Pangarungan thanked President Duterte for his appointment but immediately declared that he will be independent.
“We aim to strengthen this Commission so that we can perform our most important mandate, and that is to preserve the sanctity of the vote and the independence of this Commission,” said Pangarungan.
“I stand before you today as a defender of democracy, who will be independent and conscientious in giving life to the fundamental freedom of suffrage,” he added before calling on the six commissioners of the Comelec to join him in his agenda to raise the level of integrity of the agency.
“As a collegial body, I know my fellow Commissioners will work with me in elevating the level of integrity of this Commission. This is imperative as the Comelec embodies the very essence of democracy,” said Pangarungan.
“We will honor and protect the Constitution in every decision we pen, in every program and project we undertake, and even in every single vote we count. The sanctity of the vote shall be our guiding principle,” said Pangarungan.
Last Tuesday, Malacañang announced the appointment of Pangarungan as chairman, and George Erwin Garcia and Aimee Neri as commissioners.
The three separately took their oath, with Pangarungan having his before Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, while Garcia was sworn in by then acting poll chief Socorro Inting.
On Wednesday, the three new poll officials joined Commissioners Inting, Marlon Casquejo, Aimee Ferolino, and Rey Bulay during the weekly Comelec en banc session.
Garcia was the only one who joined the meeting virtually.
In a related development, the Comelec said it will still defend its Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Rappler on their fact-checking partnership.
“We are simply suspending the implementation of the MOA. We are not abrogating it,” said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez.
On late Tuesday, the Comelec announced that it is holding in abeyance the implementation of the provisions of the MOA with Rappler.
This came after the OSG filed before the Supreme Court a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition with Prayer for a Temporary Restraining Order/Writ of Preliminary Injunction against the Commission and Rappler.
