Up to CA to confirm Marcos appointees in Comelec
Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia
MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Erwin Garcia said on Wednesday he saw nothing wrong with all members of the poll body being appointed by the incumbent President.
“The power of the President is always checked by the power of Congress [through the Commission on Appointments or CA] to confirm the appointments or not,” Garcia said in a press conference after administering the oath of office to newly appointed Comelec Commissioner Noli Pipo.
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He added that their oath requires them to ensure that “their loyalty should always be to the country, to the Constitution, to the republic, and to the people.”
Pipo, former Comelec Ilocos Region director, along with Comelec law department director Ma. Norina Tangaro-Casingal is the newest member of the seven-member Comelec en banc following the retirement of Commissioners Socorro Inting and Marlon Casquejo.
Article continues after this advertisementOther appointees of Marcos are Garcia, Commissioners Nelson Celis and Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda Jr. Commissioners Rey Bulay and Aimee Ferolino, appointees of former President Rodrigo Duterte, will finish their terms in 2027 before the President steps down, making all commissioners his appointees. —Jerome Aning
