Con-Com 2018 Member
Q: Will the constitutional commissions maintain their status under the Con-Com’s Draft?
A: They will, and their independence is strengthened. There will be more constitutional commissions: Aside from the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Audit, and the Commission on Elections, the Commission Rights is elevated to the rank of an independent constitutional commission, as is the Ombudsman (this time as a Commission), and the Competition Commission.
Q: What guarantees are provided to preserve the independence of the Commissions?
A: Appointments are by the President with the Confirmation of the Commission on Appointments, but, once appointed, chairpersons and members can be removed only by impeachment. The commissions enjoy fiscal autonomy, and there can be no reduction in their appropriations from the appropriations of the previous year. They may promulgate their own rules and regulations.
Q: What is notably new in the proposal on the Civil Service Commission?
A: There will be Regional Civil Service Commissions, but these will be more than just the CSC Regional Offices that presently exist. The Federal Commission shall set only minimum standards and policies, but the Regional Assemblies may enact laws which provide for standards, policies and qualifications even higher than the minimum standards. The Regional Civil Service Commissions’ members shall be appointed by the Regional Governor with the consent of the Regional Assembly, and selection and appointment of regional personnel shall be by the Regional Civil Service Commission.
Q: What is notably new in the proposal on the Commission on Elections?
A: Since the Comelec has repeatedly complained that much of its time is spent in the adjudication of election contests, this jurisdiction has been taken away from it, but it will have its hands full, since it will be the primary agency for the party mechanisms that the draft sets in place, such as the Democracy Fund to which contributors to political parties make their contributions.
Q: Recently, the revelations of Attorney Glenn Chong have exposed the vulnerability of automated elections to systematized and highly technical deceit. How does the draft deal with this?
A: In more than hortatory language, the Draft requires that “the appreciation of ballots, counting of votes and the overall conduct of any election, whether it be manual, automated or a combination of both, shall be accessible, verifiable and open to public scrutiny at all stages. The average citizen or a group of citizens will then have the right to demand that the process by which votes are appreciated or “counted” electronically be made clear to them, and this may include the appointment or selection of citizen IT experts who will verify the integrity of the automated elections.
Q: What of the Commission on Audit?
A: Because it is preferable to prevent irregularity rather than deal with the damage when damage has been done, or to punish malfeasance or misfeasance when committed, the Draft provides that the Commission on Audit SHALL conduct a pre-audity with a reasonable period on transactions or contracts and projects of paramount importance to economic development upon request of the head of the agency.