New Comelec top lawyer vows to clean up legal department

MANILA, Philippines - Newly-installed Commission on Elections (Comelec) legal department chief Ferdinand Rafanan on Monday vowed to eradicate graft and corruption in his department, and clean up how the department decides on cases it is handling. On his first day in his new post, Rafanan said he will rid the department of irregularities and remove perception that it is deciding on legal issues not on its merits but based on political inclinations. “I have stood up for what I believe is right here in the commission for the past 10 years and I enjoy the struggle. I would want to get rid of the image of corruption and change the perception by deciding on legal issues on the basis of what is right and not on its political inclination," Rafanan said. Rafanan, former director of Comelec NCR, assumed his post Monday after the Comelec en ban appointed him to occupy the vacated post following the murder of his predecessor Wynne Asdala. Before Asdala, Comelec director Alioden Dalaig was occupying the post but was similarly gunned down by still unidentified men in front of Casino Hyatt Hotel in Ermita, Manila in November 2007. Rafanan said his first agenda is the inventory of all the cases handled by the department and see what these are and to whom it is assigned. Once the inventory of the cases is completed, Rafanan said they will decide what case should be prioritized and what should be discarded. Throughout his career with the Comelec, Rafanan was appointed as director of Comelec Region 8. He also served as the head of the Comelec’s education and information department. Rafanan was chosen among four other applicants who applied for the post vacated by Asdala. The official said that his application was merely to “test the waters" of the Commission and see “if the commission is ready for the change". “I was told that Chairman (Jose) Melo chose me because he wants a man who is competent, knows the election laws and can stand up and tell him when he is wrong," Rafanan said. - GMANews.TV