Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia welcomed on Thursday, Oct. 6, the ad interim appointments Commissioner Ernesto Ferdinand P. Maceda, Jr. and Commissioner Nelson Java Celis.

Comelec confirmed receipt of the appointment papers and stated that both will serve for a term expiring on Feb. 2, 2029. Garcia said that their appointments round up the composition of the seven-member en banc, joining Commissioners Socorro B. Inting, Marlon S. Casquejo, Aimee P. Ferolino, Rey F. Bulay, and Garcia.

"Together with the thousands-strong personnel of the Comelec nationwide, we welcome their much-needed appointments, and we hope for the confirmation of Comm. Maceda and Comm. Celis by the Commission of Appointments," Garcia said.

According to the statement released by Acting Comelec Spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco, Maceda is a constitutionalist, and is a respected personality in the academe, having taught election law, administrative law, public officers, public corporations and constitutional law subjects at the law schools of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), Far Eastern University-De La Salle University JD-MBA Program and Arellano University. Prior to his appointment, Maceda was a professorial lecturer at the Ateneo Law School and was a Master of Laws thesis professor at the PLM Graduate School of Law.

He has also held several leadership positions in the public academe. Formerly, he was President and Chairman of the Board of the Philippine Association of Law Schools (PALS), Executive Vice President (2007-2009) of PLM, Dean of the College of Law (2006-2015) of PLM, and University President (2015-2019) of Universidad de Manila. In the private sector, his areas of focus as a Partner at MACEDALAW include election law practice.

"I am humbled to be entrusted with the crucial duties and responsibilities of the Office of the Commissioner. The first principle of democracy is that sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. As guardian of the sovereign will, the Commission on Elections fulfills this task by ensuring that the electoral process is free, fair, credible and honest, orderly and peaceful, informed and meaningful," Maceda said.

Commissioner Celis, on the other hand, is a veteran Information Technology Expert Practitioner and Academician.

"We sincerely believe that his expertise and long experience in Information Technology will immensely benefit the COMELEC and further enhance the automation of the electoral processes. With his reappointment, we look forward to continuing the great relations in the Commission that he had already established following his previous appointment," Laudiangco stated.

"With the seven-member Commission En Banc now complete, we are more confident than ever that we will be able to fulfill the commitments of Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia to the Filipino electorate. From the main to the field offices, from the senior officials to our valuable local staff, the entire COMELEC commits to deliver free and fair elections." he added.