THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) urged the public to give the newly appointed commissioners the chance to prove themselves amid criticism that they have the tendency to be impartial and biased.“We have to give each individual commissioner the opportunity to prove themselves impartial and neutral in the exercise of their duties,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in a press briefing on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.“Ultimately, it really depends on the appointee and how the appointee works himself once they are in office. And we are very confident that the appointees will be able to navigate that. They will be able to act impartially and fairly in all matters before them,” he added.Jimenez made the statement when asked to make comment on the appointment of new ad interim Comelec commissioner George Erwin Garcia along with Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Undersecretary Aimee Torrefranca-Neri.President Rodrigo Duterte also appointed National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Secretary Saidamen Pangarungan as the new chief of the Comelec.Garcia handled various electoral cases in the past and among his clients were presidential candidates Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Senators Grace Poe and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.Marcos’s certificate of candidacy faced several disqualification petitions before the Comelec. One of which, filed by Pudno Nga Ilokano, remains pending while the others have already been junked.Five petitioners have pending motions for reconsideration after the petitions they filed against Marcos were denied.Moreno said Garcia’s appointment means the Comelec is in good hands, as he vouched for his professionalism.“Napaka-professional (Very professional)… I think we’ll be in good hands. ‘Yung ating eleksyon malalagay sa magandang kinalalagyan with George being part of the system,” Moreno said in the sidelines of his campaign activity in Tarlac City.Pimentel, the leader of the PDP-Laban faction that fielded Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao as their standard bearer for the upcoming polls, said he believes Garcia will be true to his oath to decide objectively based in facts, law and truth and not based on his relationship with a person.“Ang susi d’yan ay kung kaya ng isang lawyer who practices his profession, handling cases for clients, to tell himself or herself na ‘hindi ka na lawyer ngayon, judge ka na.’ And therefore, be objective in decision making and be willing to inhibit from cases where he or she cannot decide objectively due to closeness to one of the parties…History will judge them. Then after ‘history,’ God will judge them too,” he said in a message to reporters.But Senator Francis Pangilinan, the running mate of presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo, said the appointment of Garcia is a “serious concern.”Garcia handled the electoral protest of Marcos against Robredo after the 2016 national elections.Jimenez ensured that the remaining petition against Marcos’s candidacy will not be re-raffled.“‘Pag na-raffle na sa ponente, nandoon na yon sa ponente,” he said, referring to the commissioner assigned to write a decision on a case.“As I know, ang aming practice is that once it is raffled to a ponente, it stays with the ponente. So even if there is a new entrant to the commission, hindi na…siya magkakaroon ng re-raffle… This is the typical flow of things pagdating sa ganyang usapan,” he added.Presidential aspirant Leody de Guzman said by appointing Garcia, Duterte recklessly ignored calls for transparency and inclusiveness.But he expressed high hopes that the Comelec will immediately resolve with fairness the disqualification cases against Marcos.Duterte earlier said he has yet to pick his presidential bet.But in his speech during the inauguration of the Narvacan Farmers Market in Ilocos Sur, Duterte said: “You know in my Cabinet, aapat o tatlo na lang kaming Bisaya na naiwan puro Ilokano na, kaya ibigay ko na lang itong isang buwan aalis na ako sa Malacañang, mamili na kung sinong Ilokano na leader ang ilagay ninyo doon.”Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, is the running mate of Marcos, the son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. whose family hailed from Ilocos Norte.In a press briefing on Tuesday, March 8, newly appointed acting presidential spokesperson Secretary Martin Andanar said Duterte has not reached a decision yet on who to support for president in the May polls.“He clearly said he may or he may not. So hintayin na lang po natin ang magiging desisyon ng ating mahal na Pangulo (Let’s wait for the President’s decision). Kung ano man yung sinabi ni President sa Ilocos, you know the President, he likes to play with words and he loves to horse around,” he said. (SunStar Philippines)