Ex-poll commissioner Rene Sarmiento elected as new PPCRV chair

Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Rene Sarmiento is the new chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).

Sarmiento, who served in the poll body from April 2006 to February 2013, was elected to head the PPCRV during its 176th General Assembly last week.

He will lead the Comelec-accredited citizen's arm with a six-year term, from November 1, 2016 to October 31, 2022.

Sarmiento is a known human rights lawyer. He served as deputy presidential adviser on the peace process from April 2005 until March 2006 before returning to private practice.

He served as vice chairman of the government panel that was negotiating peace with the communist-led National Democratic Front from February 1996 until 2006.

He was also a member of the Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987 Constitution under the Aquino administration.

Sarmiento's stint at the Comelec saw the first automated national elections in 2010.

Sarmiento will succeed outgoing chairperson Henrietta de Villa, former ambassador to the Vatican, who co-founded the organization with the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin in 1991.

De Villa announced her retirement last May 3. —Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/ALG, GMA News