Members of the Alliance of Commission on Elections Employees in Service (ACES) on Wednesday welcomed the appointment of veteran IT expert Augusto "Gus" Lagman as the new Comelec commissioner.
“Though the ACES earlier hoped for an insider, Mr. Lagman’s appointment to the seven-member collegial body is certainly welcome news," ACES vice president for internal affairs Mac Ramirez said in a statement Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, MalacaΓ±ang announced that Lagman will be replacing retired poll commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, whose term ended last February.
Ramirez said that Lagman's IT knowledge will be of "tremendous use" for the Comelec while it gears up for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections in August.
“We hope, however, Lagman wouldn’t turn-tail on his advocacy for transparency and credibility of the automated elections in the country now that he is inside the agency he helped keep in check for several years already," he said.
He likewise said he hopes the newly appointed Comelec official will also champion the welfare of the more than 6,000 Comelec rank and file employees nationwide.“We urge him to also join us in our fight for job security, better working conditions, decent wages and in our democratic right to organize and negotiate with management concerning our welfare," Ramirez said. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News
