Election watchdog, tech-savvy lawyer named Comelec commissioners

(Updated 9:06 p.m.) The head of a poll watchdog and a board member of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) have been named poll commissioners, Malacañang said Thursday. A report on GMA News TV's "Balitanghali" said the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson has confirmed that President Benigno Aquino III has appointed lawyer Luie Guia of the Legal Network for Truthful Election (Lente) and LTFRB board member Al Parreño to the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Parreño is a lawyer who has specialized in information technology, an expertise that will come in handy as the agency oversees national automated elections where many of the issues have to do with electronic machinery, servers, and memory cards. Challenging task Guia, in an interview on "Balitanghali," described his new job as a "challenging task." He said he aims to modernize the poll body and strengthen its bureaucracy. In a report on GMA News' "24 Oras," Guia described his feeling upon learning of his appointment. “Mas kaba yung dumating nung sinabi nga na na-appoint tayo dahil malaking challenge ito,  lalo na at dumating ‘yung appointment nung malapit na ‘yung halalan, nasa tail-end na ng preparation,” he said. “Ngayon may mga demands ang modern election. Hindi modern in the sense of technology, modern din in the sense of governance, like mas may demand ngayon for transparency and accountability,” he added.   “Napapanahon na rin na maging angkop ‘yung structure ng Comelec at saka yung burokrasya,” Guia further said. PNoy interview In an interview with GMA News Online earlier in the day before Malacañang's confirmation, Guia said he sat down with Aquino for an hour-long interview earlier this week. “[I was] just interviewed this week, in a way 'yun yung confirmation [that I was being considered for the job]. Tinanong niya sa 'kin yung plans ko for Comelec, in case I get appointed,” he said. Guia noted that as somebody who has been dealing with the Comelec for more than decade, he will have a better understanding of the problems that plague the poll body. “Of course I told him (Aquino) that having been working with Comelec from inside 18 years ago, as well as working with the reform process ng Comelec from the outside, medyo alam ko 'yung needs nila,” he said. Aquino earlier named Macabangkit Lanto and Bernandette Sardillo as Comelec commissioners, but both turned down the position. In separate letters to Aquino, Lanto cited the controversies surrounding him, while Sardillo pointed out a family member's ill health as reasons for declining the position.  — Patricia Denise Chiu and Rouchelle Dinglasan/KBK/HS/DVM/BM, GMA News