New Comelec chief Pangarungan vows to be ‘defender of democracy’

Newly appointed Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Saidamen Pangarungan on Wednesday vowed to be a “defender of democracy,” noting that under his term he will strengthen the “sanctity of vote and independence” of the poll body.

Pangarungan formally assumed the chairmanship post at a ceremony welcoming the newly appointed members of the Comelec en banc on Wednesday.

“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. 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,” he said.

“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,” he added.

Pangarungan said he would take care of the Comelec employees, adding that he will maximize their employees’ benefits.

“Every official and employee should be given what they are due so that, in return, I could demand their best and topnotch service for this commission,” he said.

He also vowed to “improve, reform, and elevate” the poll body's level of service as he recalled how he worked as Interior Secretary under former President Cory Aquino’s term in abolishing at least 2,000 “ghost barangays,” adding that it was the “biggest electoral fraud in our country.”

“As we work, let us remember that we owe this service to the Filipino people. We will not let the Filipino people down,” he added.

Malacañang on Tuesday announced that President Duterte has appointed Pangarungan as ad interim chairperson of the Comelec.

He was the head of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos prior to his appointment to Comelec.

Meanwhile, Duterte also signed the appointment of George Erwin Garcia  and Aimee Torrefranca-Neri as ad interim Comelec commissioners.

Garcia is an election lawyer whose former clients include presidential candidates Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and former senator Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr., Senators Grace Poe and Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III.

Torrefranca-Neri, on the other hand, was an undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. — BM, GMA News