What to do with the COMELEC?

OBVIOUSLY out of frustration and conviction, retired Army general and Southern Luzon (Solcom) area commander, Antonio Parlade Jr., last March 15, 2022, called for the formation of a ‘revolutionary government,’ citing as basis, massive corruption in government to include our electoral system being administered by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).

And rightfully so, his former colleagues and superiors in government and the military denounced his call, it being contrary to our democratic form of government and down the road, it may even cause bigger, unpredictable problems for the country.

That the scandals that continue to hound the COMELEC proved to be the “last straw” that broke Parlade’s patience is also expected as this suspicion and disgruntlement against the COMELEC has been boiling in the mind of most Filipinos for a long time now.

Indeed, the idea that the COMELEC should now be “defanged” by having it dissolved or reconstituted only when the election season approaches have a lot to do with the COMELEC’s own arrogance and abuses in the exercise of its power, both arising from its independence as a constitutional office free from the oversight of Malacañang, Congress and the Supreme Court.

As the holder of any democracy’s “most sacred” character, the right of suffrage, all of us would like to see a poll commission ever conscious of its duty to protect the sanctity and credibility of our elections, its conduct and its result.

Over the years, however, since it was “sanctified” by the 1987 Constitution, the COMELEC, insofar as its performance show, has miserably failed to live up to our people’s expectation.

First, it continues to hold on, like a barnacle to a sunken, corroding ship, to Smartmatic as its automated election partner, despite Smartmatic’s credibility deficit—and the availability of other election system providers, including Filipino-developed systems.

And the way things are going, the COMELEC appears unwilling to go on its own in administering Philippine elections, making people suspect that it has simply become too lazy or too mendicant—or too corrupt– to discharge its own constitutional duties.

That for us the COMELEC has been abusing its constitutional protection can also be seen over the way it has been callously sitting on all election protests, aside from its continued partnership with dubious characters like Smartmatic and of late, the US-funded online news site, Rappler.

We repeat: the right of suffrage and the expectation of a credible, transparent and independent election is at the core of our people’s belief in our democracy, despite its many weaknesses and defects.

And if the COMELEC would continue to be callous in the exercise of its constitutional duties, no one should be surprised if the call for a revolutionary government gains more adherents in the days and years to come.

And when that day comes, when most of our institutions have been closed down with the COMELEC heading the list, then we would no one else to blame but the COMELEC, of course.