COMELEC Chairman George Erwin Garcia retained Laudiangco’s designation as the poll body’s acting spokesperson.
GEORGE ERWIN GARCIA — The newly-appointed COMELEC chairman retained Atty. John Rex Laudiangco’s designation as acting spokesperson of the Commission on Elections.
To recall, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. appointed Garcia as the chairman of the poll body.
This was confirmed by Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, saying the President has submitted Garcia’s name to the bicameral Commission on Appointments.
READ ALSO: President Bongbong Marcos Appoints George Erwin Garcia As COMELEC Chairman
Garcia, in a memorandum dated August 3, 2022, said that Laudiangco will retain his position as the acting spokesperson of the poll body “effective immediately”.
“You are to retain your designation as Acting Spokesperson of this Commission effective immediately. In the exercise of your duties, you shall report directly to the undersigned,” the memorandum reads.
GMA News Online reported that Laudiangco served as the spokesperson of the Commission on Elections during the short-lived tenure of former COMELEC chairman Saidamen Pangarungan.
Pangarungan was appointed to his post by then President Rodrigo Duterte last March 9 but his nomination and that of Garcia were bypassed by the bicameral Commission on Appointments in June.
Meanwhile, Garcia said that he will be pushing for the creation of a new COMELEC office building.
He said that DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman had already inquired with the poll body regarding the budget for the new COMELEC building, to be submitted for approval to Congress.
“Kita niyo naman po ang kalagayan ng Comelec… Siguro nga pagkakataon na, high time naman na sana naman po, hindi naman excuse ang sunog. Sana naman kami ay mabigyan ng kahit kaunting pagtingin, na mabigyan na kami ng Comelec building,” Garcia said at a press briefing.
The newly-appointed COMELEC chairman is a longtime election lawyer whose former clients include Marcos, former Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, former senators Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and Manny Pacquiao, and Senators Grace Poe and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.
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