James Jimenez. FAYE ORELLANA / INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — There is no ‘reshuffle’ in the leadership of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the poll body’s spokesperson said Sunday.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the poll body is an independent Constitutional commission, as he clarified that commissioners can only be removed by impeachment.
“Its members can only be removed thru impeachment so “balasahan” (reshuffling) is NOT an option,” he said in a Twitter thread.
Jimenez also pointed out that the video now making rounds in social media is an old one and dates back to before 2019.
“It references [Juan] Andres Bautista as chairman, and calls for the defeat of ‘Ocho Direcho’,” he said.
Bautista stepped down in 2017 as Comelec chairman. Sheriff Abas now serves as Comelec chairman.
“On top of that, it originated and is being shared by sites known to promote the claims of a very specific lobby,” he noted. “All these circumstances flag this particular item as DISINFORMATION, intended for political effect.”