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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider CA OKs appointments of two Comelec commissioners

CA OKs appointments of two Comelec commissioners

Published Jun 10, 2025 05:16 pm

At A Glance

  • The poll commissioners were questioned about some of the Comelec's questionable electoral policies and were asked to ensure that future elections are free from costly errors and potential legal missteps.

The Commission on Appointments (CA) approved on Tuesday, June 10 the ad interim appointments of Ma. Norina Tangaro-Casingal and Noli Rafol Pipo as commissioners of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). 

This was after the powerful appointments body’s Committee on Constitutional Commission and Offices, chaired by Sen. Cynthia Villar, endorsed to the plenary the confirmation of the two commissioners of the poll body.

During the hearing of the bicameral body, Villar questioned the Comelec’s practice of allowing persons with disabilities (PWDs) and senior citizens to cast their ballots at the ground floor without vote counting machines (VCM) during the recent May 2025 elections.

Villar said such practice should be reconsidered considering that the PWDs and senior citizens have no knowledge whether their votes were counted.

“That’s why the credibility of the election is lost because of those practices. I’m just informing you that there’s a problem with your policy,” Villar said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros also sought clarification regarding the reported discarding of approximately six million printed ballots.

The issue stemmed from the Supreme Court's issuance of temporary restraining orders (TROs) that prevented the Comelec from disqualifying Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, former Albay Governor Noel Rosal, and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama. 

“Pursuant to various temporary restraining orders issued by the Supreme Court, the Comelec allegedly—for the first time in its history—had to discard about six million ballots because it needed to print new ones that included the names of petitioners who were allegedly arbitrarily excluded by the Commission,” Hontiveros said. 

“That’s around ₱126 million. That’s not a small amount. ₱126 million just to reprint ballots that had to be discarded due to these cases,” the Senate deputy minority leader said.

With this, Hontiveros urged the Comelec to ensure that future elections are free from costly errors and potential legal missteps.

In the end, Villar endorsed the appointments of Casingal and Pipo for plenary approval. 

Related Tags

Commission on Appointments (CA) Commission on Elections (COMELEC) May 2025 elections Ma. Norina Tangaro-Casingal Noli Rafol Pipo
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