Brillantes vows to attend Senate hearing on party-lists, political dynasties

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. has assured the Senate of his attendance in a hearing on pending bills involving political dynasty and the party-list system scheduled for Thursday.

In an interview with reporters, Brillantes said he would definitely attend the Nov. 8 hearing set by the Senate committee on electoral reforms and suffrage not to confront lawmakers but “to agree” on some amendments on the bills.

“I am going to attend together with all the commissioners if they are around,” said the Comelec chief, who was not able to make it to the hearing set by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, chairman of the committee two weeks ago.

Earlier, Pimentel wondered why Brillantes and the commissioners “boycotted” the hearing when the committee needed their input on pending bills against political dynasty and the party-list system.

But Brillantes was surprised that Pimentel thought of it as a boycott when he had assigned lawyers from the election body’s legal office to represent them during the hearing since the Comelec en banc was swamped with work.

“We will be most cooperative because that’s what we want,” said Brillantes, referring to the need for a more definitive law governing the party-list system.

The Comelec has been attributing the infestation of the party-list system with sham groups on the ambiguities in the law, which has blurred the concepts of marginalized and underrepresented in the Constitution.

The Comelec also earlier pointed out that the Constitution did not clearly define the two concepts and also did not lay down the qualifications for party-list nominees.

“In the absence of any law, we are the ones interpreting what does marginalized mean [based on jurisprudence,” said Brillantes, adding that he was also hoping that the Supreme Court would already act on the petitions filed by party-list groups which the Comelec has already disqualified from the 2013 elections.

Party-list groups Ako Bicol, 1st Consumer’s Alliance for Rural Energy (1-Care) and the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives have already filed their appeals before the Supreme Court.