Ferolino to head task force 'Kontra Bigay' (Sabong News)
Author
Leslie Ann Aquino
Date
MARCH 30 2022
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Aimee Ferolino will head the task force on vote buying.
Commissioner George Garcia revealed this information Wednesday, March 30, after attending their en Banc meeting.
“Commissioner Ferolino will call for a meeting with the task force, draft the necessary additional guidelines. At the same time apply the mandate of Comelec to either moto propio or to accept complaints on vote buying,” he said.
The poll body already said that the task force “Kontra Bigay” will be composed of the Comelec, Department of Justice (DOJ), Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), Philippine Infotmation Agency (PIA), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Garcia said because of the broad coordinative efforts, “immediate actions moto propio or based on formal complaints involving vote buying is expected.”
“As we have said before, our commitment in eliminating this irregularity is unparalleled,” he said.
Ferolino is also the chairman of the Shipping Committee of the Comelec for the 2022 polls.
Meanwhile, during the en banc meeting, the Comelec has resolved to introduce amendments to Comelec Resolution 10728 or the Rules and Regulations on the ban on bearing, carrying, or transporting of firearms or other deadly weapons; and the employment, availment or engagement of the services of security personnel or bodyguards during the Election Period of the May 9, 2022 National and Local Elections.
Comelec Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan said this is to recalibrate the guidelines for a more efficient system of issuing certificates of authority.
In a statement, he said, these amendments include the decentralization of the granting of exemption to the Regional Directors and Election Officers and the grant of automatic exemption to justices, judges, and prosecutors, including the Ombudsman.
Pangarungan said the Committee on the Ban on Firearms and Security Concerns (CBFSC) was given “one week from today to finetune and finalize the proposed amendments; to ensure that the regional directors and election officers possess the required capacity to undertake the task; and to consult with Comelec partners and study the safeguards needed for such amendments.”
“Nevertheless, in the interim, the Commission en banc has restated its resolution to expedite the processing of all the pending applications before the CBFSC,” he said.
