Finally getting his appointment papers corrected, Elections Commissioner Luie Tito Guia took his oath Wednesday afternoon.
Poll chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. administered the oath of office to Guia who was accompanied by his wife Karla and 16-year-old daughter Bernadette Louise.
“With Commissioner Guia joining us, wala kaming problema sa disposition ng cases,” Brillantes said in an interview after the oath-taking ceremony.
He added that Guia will be attending the special en banc meeting Thursday morning. Among the agenda in the meeting will be the tasks to be given to the newly-appointed commissioners.
“Officially, we are now six in the Commission on Elections. Makukumpleto na kami.
We are having our special en banc tomorrow and Commissioner Guia will be joining us officially as sixth member,” he said.
He added they are just waiting for the formal assumption of Commissioner Al Parreño who is also waiting for his replacement at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
Guia, for his part, said he can start his work effective immediately.
Asked who will replace him as acting executive director of Lente, a poll watchdog, Guia said they already had a person in mind but still finalizing it.
In an interview with GMA News Online, Mrs. Guia believed her husband’s appointment is a gift from God.
“Nagkasakit ako six months ago, kailangan kong magpahinga sa bahay. With his fulltime job as commissioner, makakapagpahinga ako,” she said.
She said she is supportive of her husband’s appointment.
“If you were asked to serve, wag kang maging mayabang, magserve ka, wag kang magli-limit sa pagse-serve,” she said.
The commissioner and his wife met in the Comelec in 1991 at the office of then chairman Christian Monsod. They got married in 1994.
Mrs. Guia is a senior project officer at International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). She will be resigning from her job this month. — RSJ, GMA News
