Misspelled name delays Luie Guia's oath-taking as poll commissioner

Newly appointed Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Luie Tito Guia cannot take his oath of office yet as his name was misspelled on his appointment papers, poll chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr said Tuesday. Brillantes said Guia's papers were returned to Malacañang for correction after his first name was spelled with an “o” instead of a “u.”   “Nagkaroon ng konting problema kay Commissioner Guia kasi nagkaroon ng wrong spelling, so binalik namin sa Malacañang. Wala pa 'yung new appointment [papers] na corrected so he cannot take oath until mabigyan tayo,” Brillantes told reporters. Asked why his first name has an unusual spelling, Guia, in a text message to GMA News Online, said: "I think that was just the name given to me by my parents. I really don't know where it came from." The other appointed commissioner, Al Parreño, on the other hand, is still waiting for his replacement at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) before he could take his oath. LTFRB chairman Jaime Jacob resigned in March and the board will no longer be able to run if Parreño would immediately transfer to Comelec, Brillantes said. “Sa LTFRB daw, tatlo lang silang member. Nag-resign si Mr. Jacob. Dadalawa na lang sila. Pag umalis siya, hindi na tatakbo ang LTFRB. So inaantay muna nila 'yung isang appointment to replace him then he can assume office here. That will be within the week,” he said. Malacanañg announced the appointments of Guia and Parreno last week. They will fill up the vacancies caused by the retirement of Commissioners Rene Sarmiento and Armando Velasco last February. — Amita Legaspi/KBK, GMA News