Eighty years ago this month, the determination to have an independent Commission on Elections in the Philippines proved to be unwilling to keep to the slow pace of the US Congress. Too impatient to wait for Congressional approval of the Constitutional Amendment that would later enshrine the independent electoral management body in our Charter, the fledgling National Assembly of the Philippines enacted a law—Commonwealth Act 607—that created a Commission on Elections that would be everything that they envisioned an independent and impartial election management body would be.
It was a promise to the Filipino people and the world, that although the Philippines’s Commission on Elections was truly a creation of elected officials, that those same elected officials would voluntarily hold the Commission and its mandate as sacrosanct as though it were part of the Constitution itself. And a year later, when the US Congress finally approved the Constitutional Amendment creating the Comelec, that promise was paid in full with its reorganization as a Constitutional body.
Since then, and until now, the Comelec has worked hard to remain true to the vision of its founders. Through numerous hardships, the institution—especially the women and men who make it run—has shown great resilience and an eagerness to learn from the lessons of the past; to bounce back from adversity with a renewed commitment to the great words emblazoned on its Seal—Vox Populi Vox Dei; and to continue with the pioneering spirit and uncompromising audacity that allowed it to be born, 80 years ago.
This year, amid the catastrophes that have laid our beloved country low, we have seen the Comelec revealing a side to it that many people often overlook. Beyond just serving its mandate of conducting clean and honest elections, the Comelec has also shown that it serves with a heart. The institution itself, acting through the Commission en Banc, together with its various officers and employees, acting on their own, has extended its helping hand to the victims of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and pandemic. Both as individuals and as an institution, the Comelec has gone the extra mile to do its part in helping the country survive these trying times.
Eighty years ago this month, the Comelec was created as a guarantee that elections would be professionally managed, impartial, and truly reflective of the voice of the people. That guarantee remains to this day, undiminished and whole.