IN a bid to prevent any suspicion of possible connivance between local election officers and incumbent local officials in the 2013 polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) would reshuffle its officials starting January.

In a chance interview with Senate reporters, Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes said that scheduled reshuffle is needed because most of local Comelec officers are already familiar with the incumbent officials and that is not good for the elections.

“Some of them have been there for quite some time there could already be some attachment with incumbent officials so we just want to put a division,” Brillantes said.

He added that the move is part of a policy decision which the poll body came with a few months ago and all regional directors have already been informed about the planned reshuffle.

Brillantes made it clear that the reshuffle is just temporary and that the officials will return to their respective post once the 2013 elections are over.

The reassignment will cover regional directors, assistant regional directors, provincial election supervisors and election officers nationwide.

Goodbye, Garci
Meanwhile, the “Garci Boys” may have finally been off the hook eight years after the controversial “operation” happened.

Brillantes expressed belief that the possible cases against them should have prescribed already.

“The Garci Boys were in 2004. In fact, the cases against them should prescribe already,” Brillantes said.

He reasoned that this is because the case of electoral sabotage cannot be applied to them since the offense was only institutionalized in 2007 through the Poll Automation Law.

What is applicable to them, according to the poll chief, is “only” an election offense as provided by the Omnibus Election Code.

Section 267 of the Code provides that “election offenses shall prescribe after five years from the date of their commission”.

On the other hand, an electoral sabotage case has a prescription period of 20 years as provided by Republic Act 9369.

The “Hello Garci” scandal refers to the exposed wiretapped conversation in 2005, wherein a voice of a man, allegedly commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, and a woman, said to be then president Gloria Arroyo, were recorded talking supposedly about rigging the 2004 election results to favor the latter.