Comelec still open to dialogue with Namfrel — Jimenez
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Tue, 07 May 2019 11:37:29 +0000
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is open to a discussion with the leadership of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), which declined its accreditation as citizen arm in the May 13 polls.
But Comelec spokesman James Jimenez clarified on Tuesday that he could not say if the Commission en ban would be willing to give back the accreditation to Namfrel.
“We are open to any possible discussion with Namfrel but we will not force them if they don’t want to return [as Comelec citizen’s arm],” he said.
Namfrel returned its accreditation after it failed to get the Comelec’s approval on its request for access to data from the Comelec server.
Jimenez said that it was not actually a rejection, only that the Commission has not yet come out with a resolution.
Jimenez said that the Comelec as guardian of the elections could not simply provide such sensitive data to ensure the poll’s integrity and credibility.
Gus Lagman, Namfrel’s national chairman, said that election data was a mine of information that the poll watchdog wanted to analyze to help the Comelec in the coming and future elections.
But Jimenez said what Namfrel was asking was beyond the scope of its duty as a citizen’s arm.
Jimenez added that Namfrel’s pullout would not in any way affect the conduct of the elections as there would always be other groups that would be willing to take over Namfrel’s role. WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL
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