Melo to resign if he fails to deliver clean polls in 2010

MANILA, Philippines - Taking on the challenge as the newly appointed chairman of the Commission on Elections, former Supreme Court justice Jose Armando Melo said he might consider resigning should he fails to deliver a clean and honest election on 2010. “Maybe I will just resign if we couldn’t hold a clean and peaceful 2010 election," Melo told reporters shortly after his oath-taking Tuesday afternoon at the Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila. The 75-year old Melo also said his personal mission as Comelec chair includes redeeming the tainted credibility of the poll body by “setting an example." Addressing his message to Comelec employees, Melo said, “Let’s stop being called the raiders of the temple of the votes of the people. Instead, let’s become the rebuilders of the temple of the votes of the people." “If duty calls we must not evade the least toil. You’ll see there will be changes here. We need to change the image of the Comelec," he added. Melo said the challenge to redeem the image of Comelec was what convinced him to return to public service. Melo replaced resigned poll Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr, who left the poll body after he was implicated in the botched $329 million broadband network deal with China’s ZTE Corp. Melo, whose appointment was supported by civil society groups and the Catholic church, had earlier said he will not take his oath unless confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. He said he changed his mind after the assassination of Comelec acting legal director Wynne Asdala Monday. “Because of the tragic event yesterday, I decided to take over. I felt like a father who was not there when this thing happened," he said. - GMANews.TV