There should be no politics in the confirmation of  a chief of a non-partisan office such as the Commission on Elections.

It would be the height of irony if administration and opposition lawmakers who are members of the Commission on Appointments slug it out for or against Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. who has shown himself to be up to the job.

More than it being a non-partisan agency, the Comelec is also a constitutional body, independent of the three main branches of government.

Brillantes should, therefore, be allowed to clear all hurdles to his confirmation by the CA to enable him to bring pending election cases and other tasks of the Comelec to speed.          

And so rather than dilly-dally much longer on his confirmation, the bicameral CA should thumb up right away the appointment of the veteran election lawyer as Comelec chief to underscore Congress’ steadfast commitment to electoral reform and poll automation.

Appointed by President Aquino last January to serve the unexpired term of then-Chairman Jose Melo, the 71-year-old Brillantes has since been serving as Comelec chief in an interim capacity, owing to the protracted CA deliberations on his appointment. Appointed by then-President Arroyo in February 2008, Melo resigned in January last year even if his seven-year term was legally due to end in 2015 yet.

There are reports that the CA panel would again take up Brillantes’ appointment this week, and our legislators would certainly do well to affirm his Comelec posting so they could better spend their time elsewhere winnowing other presidential appointees similarly requiring congressional scrutiny and approval.

Congress should confirm the appointment of this electoral reform activist, so he could fast-track work on his avowed priority concerns, among them fine-tuning poll automation for the 2013 and 2016 elections, upholding the impartiality of Comelec officers especially in the provinces, completing the early registration of voters, and expediting the resolution of pending cases and electoral protests.

CA members should bear in mind that three buzzwords had underlined the President’s decision to install his chief election lawyer in last year’s balloting at the helm of the Comelec: competence, independence and integrity.

In announcing the Comelec chairman’s appointment last January, P-Noy  voiced optimism in a Palace statement that Brillantes would be able to “hit the ground running” because his “long career in election law has given him extensive on-the-ground expertise, not just of the law, but also of the systems and processes that govern our electoral exercises”.

“The country needs someone with practical knowledge and not just theoretical understanding of election law, and an intensive knowledge of the bureaucracy, who could hit the ground running,” said the President. “We need someone who understands, and can fix, the defects in the system …. who will guide the Comelec to ensure that the laws will not be used to game the system.”

“Chairman Brillantes’ main task now is to ensure an orderly and credible election in 2013 and I am confident that he is capable of achieving this and leaving a legacy that will culminate a distinguished legal career,” added the President.

Critics argue that what President Aquino described as Brillantes’ “extensive on-the-ground” expertise as an election year is actually the single biggest reason why Congress should junk his appointment, but a substantial number of senators, among them CA stalwarts, have asserted in media reports that his reputation as a veteran “insider” should convince even the doubting Thomases that Brillantes is actually the right man for the job.