Aquino asked to rethink Comelec chief’s appointment

Does he help his clients cheat?

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday asked Malacañang to ponder this question while mulling over the reappointment of Sixto Brillantes as chair of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

President Aquino said he would reappoint Brillantes to the top Comelec post after Congress adjourned last June 8 without passing his appointment.

“I just want to make sure that we have the right man for the job. If the President really wants him there, let us use the Commission on Appointments (CA) as a venue to mold the kind of Comelec chairman that we deserve,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano said that between now and the opening of the second regular session on July 24, Malacañang should ask itself: Is he the kind who does not accept a case that involves cheating? Or is he the kind who even helps his clients cheat?

“We have to find out which of the two kinds of lawyers is Brillantes. And if he is the kind who is involved in cheating, why make him chairman?” Cayetano said.

Lawyer of ‘losing candidates’

Cayetano has openly opposed Brillantes’ appointment as Comelec chair mainly because of the latter’s record as election lawyer of losing candidates. He grilled Brillantes in his last appearance before the CA.

The senator had earlier accused Brillantes of offering to “take care of the electoral protest against his wife,” (Taguig Mayor Laarni Cayetano), in exchange for the senator’s support for his confirmation, a charge Brillantes denied.

‘Conflict of interest’

Cayetano pointed out that there are other individuals who have unquestionable integrity and are not facing charges of “conflict of interest,” who can assume the top Comelec post.

“I think they should continuously reassess. We hope the Palace will look into the hard questions we asked in the CA and eventually have their own ‘roadmap’ toward clean and honest elections,” he said.

Cayetano indicated that he was unconvinced by Brillantes’ statement that he knew the “election operators” and his subsequent appeal to them to “change their ways.”

“If we want reform, changing their ways is not enough. He should go after them and put them on trial,” he said.

Cayetano wondered aloud how Brillantes could deliver on his promise of reform when alleged key players in the “Hello Garci” scandal, including Ray Sumalipao, were still holding office in the Comelec.