Former Commission on Elections Chairman Christian Monsod
MANILA, Philippines — Former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman Christian Monsod believes that the Omnibus Election Code already needs revisions for it to be in tune with the automated election system.
Monsod said one the issues that needs to be addressed is the overspending of politicians on ads even before the start of the campaign period which for now is outside the regulatory powers of the commission.
The former poll chief also proposes that a one year ban should be imposed to appointed government officials before they can run for an elective position.
“I propose once that there should be one year so that they cannot use their office in order to promote their candidacies,” former COMELEC chief said.
For Monsod the current structure of the organization should also be reviewed.
He said the quasi-judicial function of the poll body should be given to only a part of the commission and the majority must focus on election management.
“You know, elections is more than just a question of law. It is a question of voter psychology, it is a question of sociology, it’s a question of accounting and so on. It’s not just a legal problem, it’s a management problem and maybe the election code can reflect the basic functions of COMELEC.”
He added that in the amendment, provisions on how to stop vote buying, the existence of warlords and the defective method political parties employ in choosing their candidates must also be included.
COMELEC Chairman Andres Bautista has stated before that after the 2016 elections they will be proposing amendments to the election code and one of which is setting aside the laderized system of canvassing before proclaiming the winners for national positions.
Bautista said because the elections are now automated we now have the capability of immediately knowing which candidates for national posts garnered the most number of votes however we cannot proclaim because canvassing must pass thru the municipal or city board of canvassers then to the provincial before it reaches the national board of canvassers.
“There has to be a review of the laderized system and also some of the procedures and processes of the COMELEC many of them are still analog whereas we are already in the digital stage,” former poll chief Monsod said.
(VICTOR COSARE / UNTV News)
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