MANILA, Philippines—The House of Representatives committee on suffrage and electoral reforms wants the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to bar employees from provincial capitols and municipal and city halls from performing election duties.

Caloocan Rep. Oscar G. Malapitan is optimistic that his Resolution No. 941, urging the Comelec to revoke its Resolution No. 06-0835 allowing casual or regular employees of local government units (LGUs) to augment the Comelec field offices, would be endorsed favorably once Congress resumes its session.

In a statement, Malapitan said that allowing governors and mayors to deploy their employees for key Comelec duty for the 2010 elections would create a “dangerous situation” because the incumbent could dictate upon the election watchdog.

He said a number of dirty tricks could be carried out by the biased employees, including transferring voter’s names to other precincts and delaying the arrival of ballot boxes.

“Who is the appointing authority? It is the mayor or the governor. So to level the playing field and preserve the independence of the Comelec and for it not to be suspected of being biased, especially in times of elections, it must not allow the services of the said employees,” Malapitan said.

The Comelec adopted Resolution No. 06-0257 in March 2006, which allows casual and regular employees of LGUs to perform clerical and maintenance functions in Comelec field offices, but not political or election duties.

In response to the Congress proposal, the Comelec has suggested putting a cap on how many regular employees could be tapped and that the selection would be made by the Comelec and not the LGU.