Press Release
January 27, 2008

KIKO PINS HOPE ON NEW COMELEC CHAIR

"We are pinning our hopes on the new Comelec chair to restore the integrity and trust in the institution and to have the courage and the decisiveness to clean up the mess it is in," Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan today said.

Last Saturday, PGMA appointed former associate justice of the Supreme Court Jose Melo as the new Commission on Elections chair. Before his appointment Melo served 23 years in the judiciary and later as associate justice of the Supreme Court from which he retired in 2002.

Melo also served as chair of the MELO COMMISSION, an independent commission that investigated the killing of militant activists and journalists. The commission was well-lauded by the international community because of its transparent and forthright report.

"We hope he will have the guts and the political will to usher in genuine reforms by ridding the Comelec of its corrupt officials and personnel and my advice is that he begins with finding and prosecuting Lintang Bedol. If he succeeds in doing this alone he would have already succeeded in improving the image of the Comelec a thousandfold. It is no nonsense public service and results that people want to see from their leaders." Kiko added.

The Comelec had been linked to several election-related irregularities in the past, including the botched mega pacific deal, the Hello Garci controversy and the resignation of former Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos after being linked to alleged bribery on the national broadband deal with China's ZTE Corporation.

"We wish him well and we hope he will succeed in restoring the sorely needed faith and trust in the Comelec as Institution whose image and reputation has been tarnished by scandal and controversy. His task is daunting but is certainly isn't insurmountable provided he is able to marshal critical support from various sectors to rebuild the image of the Institution. The Comelec can be likened to a person who has been beaten black and blue because of the string of scandals and controversies. It's as if it has two black eyes, several broken ribs and a broken and bloodied nose. Justice Melo has his work cut out for him. The challenge is to bring the Comelec back to shape in time for 2010 and beyond. It's a gargantuan task requiring leadership 36 hours a day. He will need all the help he can get." Kiko ended.

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