“My first challenge in my first few months was to learn everything about the technical aspect, which was very difficult because I was not an I.T. expert. I had to get consultants” Due to its hurdles, he also recommended the appointment of IT Experts in the COMELEC. But alas, as with many cases of reform, politics was to intervene. And sometimes it strained friendships. “I said to the President, we can place a Commissioner who is a technical expert. That is why Gus Lagman was appointed. But it did not happen because he was not confirmed. He sulked so he criticized the COMELEC” he revealed in Filipino. In many ways, Brillantes had become like the institution that he led. Adapting to change was difficult, unsettling even. But it must be done. Dragging procedures related to ballot appreciation and pre-proclamation controversies disappeared. When asked on the extent of change he replied, “Under an automated system, there’s practically no more practice. The practice of election law is now limited to the pre-election activities which means we are talking here of disqualifications etc. But post-election, there is almost none.” Automated elections are here to stay. A Time to Build As the grown man builds, his energies are spent. The brashness of his youthful years are no more. As he looks on his accomplishments, he yearns for a legacy. It is now the time to build. The PCIJ in a report said that the Party-List System Clean Up and Campaign Spending Reform were the key accomplishments of the COMELEC under Chairman Brillantes. It seemed that after a succession of controversial Chairpersons, Brillantes was the final boon. But when asked about these, he simply laughed and shrugged them off. “I felt one of my achievements was in organizing the second automated elections. I was very worried about it. I thought I will have a very big problem that is why I was not able to sleep much,” he explained. Part of the reforms in the COMELEC constituted reining in the profligacy of the candidates. Like the Philippines, politics also has the dry and wet seasons. It is dry season when the elected are busy milking the honey from their subjects. And when elections come, a deluge of money floods the television, the social media, and in millions of ubiquitous posters of all shapes and sizes. And the dry season of politics will repeat again. But not this time. “Before 2013 elections, there was no campaign finance limits. The law was never enforced strictly. We were very strict on the limitations. That was the best project of Commissioner Christian Robert Lim. He was the Commissioner-in-Charge. That is why ER Ejercito was disqualified because of the limits. A 5-minute advertise is worth six million.” Another contentious matter is the proliferation of Party-list groups. Originally instituted to promote broader representation, the intent was to welcome the marginalized. But the landed, the gentry, and the moneyed came in. All sorts of political parties mushroomed through the landscape fronting all kinds of advocacies. And if the hammer of the Commission must fall, it must fall hard, and judiciously. “Our concept there is that the party-list should be sectoral. But the Court said no. We were strict in that when you represent a party, you have to be a member of that sector like fisher-folk you have to be a fisherman. That is why we disqualified many. We disqualified the Bicol Party-list, which is the biggest party-list in 2010 but was reinstated by the Court. So from 180, we brought it down to about 80. The Supreme Court brought
the number up.” Among others, Brillantes considers his achievement the voters’ list clean up in Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. Previously, it was said that even the birds and bees have voted in the region. About 400,000 entities of all forms were axed in the voting list. In the midst of impending electoral violence, the ARMM election went without any mishap. Brillantes acknowledges that they have barely scratched the surface. But at least they have made a difference. Before leaving office, Brillantes signed a contract with SMARTMATIC for the procurement of new PCM machines. It was later voided by the Supreme Court (SC). In his defense, Brillantes pointed out the cost-efficient advantages of the contract. It was a simple case of ends not justifying the means. A Time to Ruminate As the interview closes, The Red Chronicles asked the Former Chairman on various current issues. After the Fact. With a bit of flourish, Brillantes takes pride in advocating the view that the COMELEC has no jurisdiction in determining qualifications of candidates, way before the SC pronouncement. He further elaborated that the only way the COMELEC can prevent Grace Poe is through material misrepresentation. Simply said, he holds that Grace Poe can only be removed after the elections. A Hasty Compromise. Answering the apprehensions on voters’ receipts, Brillantes replied that the election will definitely proceed because there was a compromise on the matter of the voters’ receipt. The compromise was hammered in the oral arguments during the Motion for Reconsideration. The SC relaxed its interpretation and allowed administrative compliance. Penera’s Bane. For certain, every law student knows of the case of the simple motorcade that made national ripples. And none is more affected than the enforcer of election laws himself. He believes that election law enforcement should start at the time of the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy. More than campaigning, he also believes that the period must also be enforced in campaign financing. Power Runs in the Family. Like other Filipinos, Brillantes disdains political dynasties. He believes that an Anti-Dynasty law would be a timely legislation. He added that he lobbied for it in Congress, that it already cruised through the respective committees in the House and the Senate. However, the Anti-Dynasty Bill was suddenly scuttled, apparently due to the lack of time, or so we are told. Hocus PCOS. When asked about the potential challenges for the COMELEC, Brillantes was optimistic. If three is a charm, then the COMELEC would nail it this time. He asserted that all of the major glitches were solved in the last two elections, so the third automated elections should be smooth sailing for the COMELEC. He jokingly notes that the newly-improved machines are called PCM to disassociate it from the old PCOS, derisively called Hocus PCOS. Epilogue While the seasons continue to shape man, the choice is his whether to endure or mold it. History has given a few men who have shaped the seasons that he is in. At the end of the day, man lives in his memories. He may once have been subjected to changing times, but he mastered and effected change. Sixto Serrano Brillantes, Jr. attests to his enduring legacy for the country.
Volume 9 April 2016 | 22