COMELEC TRANSFER WON’T AFFECT PENDING POLL PROTESTS

The Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) impending transfer to a new office should not be a cause of concern, especially to political parties with pending poll protests.

According to Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez, they have received a notice to vacate Palacio del Gobernador from the Intramuros Administration which manages the heritage buildings inside the Walled City.

He said the poll body “has always been very careful to observe all requirements relating to the preservation of documents in its care, to the giving of due notice to the parties, and to the protection of the people’s sovereign vote.”

“Speaking specifically to the concerns raised by the parties, I would say that there is no cause for alarm,” Jimenez said.

The Palacio del Gobernador has been the Comelec’s home since 2007.

Jimenez said the building’s structural integrity was the reason cited in the notice to vacate received by the Comelec.

Earlier, the poll body signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Public Works and Highways for the design and construction of a proposed new office.

Its different departments are also working to secure new spaces and working areas; one option is the nearby Shipping Center Building, also in Intramuros.