May 082015
 
Newly appointed Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman Andres Bautista (left) and commissioner Rowena Guanzon face the media at the COMELEC office in Intramuros, Manila on Monday. Bautista was the chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) prior to his new assignment.  (MNS photo)

Newly appointed Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman Andres Bautista (left) and commissioner Rowena Guanzon face the media at the COMELEC office in Intramuros, Manila on Monday. Bautista was the chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) prior to his new assignment. (MNS photo)

MANILA (Mabuhay) — Senator Francis Escudero on Tuesday urged newly-appointed Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista to act fast and hit the ground running to ensure clean, honest, and automated elections in 2016.

“Time is of the essence and he has to act fast in order to perform the mandate of Comelec in 2016 for clean, honest, and automated elections. He has to hit the ground running,” Escudero said.

He added that Bautista, a former chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, “is capable and he should be given all the help that he needs.”

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, for his part, expressed hope Bautista would live up to his track record and institute reforms in Comelec.

“Atty. Andres Bautista, on paper, is a good choice. Hopefully, he would be coming in with a reform agenda. Otherwise, the operators there would run circles around him,” he said in a separate text message.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said Bautista is respected in the legal profession and he will support the latter’s confirmation in the Commission on Appointments.

“We support the appointment of PCGG chair Bautista as the new Comelec chair. A law dean and respected in the legal profession, he was an examiner in the 2014 Bar examination. He proved his mettle as a public servant in the PCGG,” he said in a text message.

“We will support his confirmation in the CA,” he added.

Senator Sergio Osmeña III also believed that Bautista will be confirmed right away.

“Andy Bautista, that’s a good choice. He’s a good man, he’s a good laywer and good manager. He’s not a politician. He will get confirmed right away I predict. Tantya ko he’ll get confirmed. He’s used to government bureaucracy. He’s very honest and straight,” he said in an earlier interview with reporters.

Even to the opposition, Bautista’s appointment was acceptable. (MNS)

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