Laudiangco stays on as Comelec spokesperson   

THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) has maintained its acting spokesperson after lawmakers bypassed the appointment of its chairman and other commissioners appointed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.  

Acting Comelec Spokesperson John Rex C. Laudiangco will continue his duties until a new chairperson is appointed, acting Comelec Chair Socorro B. Inting said in a memo dated June 10.  

The Commission on Appointments, in the absence of a quorum on June 1, bypassed the appointments of Saidamen B. Pangarungan as Comelec chair and George Erwin M. Garcia and Aimee S. Torrefranca-Neri as commissioners.  

Lawmakers said President-elect Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. should be the one to appoint new heads of constitutional commissions and other government bodies, not Mr. Duterte.  

Mr. Laudiangco is the director of the Comelec law department.  

He earlier replaced Comelec Director James B. Jimenez as spokesperson, who was under investigation for his involvement in a controversy surrounding the cancellation of the supposed final round of presidential and vice-presidential debates for the May 9 elections.  

Ms. Inting was named as acting election body chief on June 2 following the vacancies left by the election officials.  

She previously served as acting Comelec chairperson from February to March after three commissioners and its chairman retired.  

Comelec has six members and one chairman. Its two divisions have three members each. Decisions issued by the two divisions are eventually appealed to the seven-member en banc.   

The election body is now left with four commissioners until Mr. Marcos Jr. appoints replacements. — John Victor D. Ordoñez