The Comelec, headed by Chairman Benjamin S. Abalos Sr., has not taken any action on the petition. The petition has not yet been docketed for a hearing nor has the 15 respondents been directed to answer or comment on the petition.

Lawyer Alberto C. Agra, Drilon’s legal counsel, said copies of the petition were furnished the respondents by registered mail due to lack of material time, distance of offices, and lack of messengerial personnel. Although they are furnished copies of the petition when it is filed, the respondents do not normally answer or comment on it unless directed by the Comelec.

Lack of Comelec action on the petition raised fears that it may take time to resolve the LP intramurals as the poll body is severely undermanned as the three vacancies for commissioners remain unfilled.

Under the Constitution, the Comelec is composed of a chairman and six commissioners. At present, the Comelec is composed only of Abalos and Commissioners Resurreccion Z. Borra, Florentino A. Tuason Jr., and Romeo A. Brawner.

It was reported that if Drilon’s petition will not be calendared today for a hearing, the Comelec may finally set the date of hearing when it meets in an en banc executive session at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, March 14.

Drilon, through Agra, also the LP legal counsel, alleged in an 11-page petition that the election of Atienza, Defensor, and other LP stalwarts last Thursday, March 2, was in violation and contravention of the LP Constitution and By-Laws and therefore, null and void.

Others elected to different positions in the LP are Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr., vice chairman; Ambassador Rigoberto Tiglao, deputy secretary; and Reps. Eric Singson, Harlin Abayon, Rodolfo Valencia, Federico Sandoval II, Danton Bueser, Danilo Suarez, Florencio Miraflores, and Solomon Chungalao as LP Executive Vice President, VP for Platform, VP for Luzon, VP for National Capital Region, VP for Sectors, Treasurer, Deputy Treasurer, Legal, Deputy Spokesman, and Chairman of Parliamentary Caucus, respectively.

Various cause-oriented groups blamed the Comelec’s failure to immediately calendar Drilon’s petition for a hearing on the fact that the seven-man poll body is undermanned. They appealed to President Arroyo to appoint to the three vacant Comelec posts career officials and lawyers not identified with any political party or prominent political figures.

They said the appointment of career officials and non-partisan lawyers will enhance the credibility of the Comelec as they are not only knowledgeable on election laws but also capable of resisting pressures as they are not beholden to anyone.

Among career officials being groomed for Comelec commissioner is Regional Director Romeo R. Lobregat of Region 1 (Ilocos). He joined the Comelec in 1986 as an election officer in Quezon City. In 2003 to 2004, he was acting regional director in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley). An outstanding trial lawyer before joining the Comelec, he has been a consultant of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) from 2005 to the present.

Non-partisan lawyers being groomed for the posts of election commissioners are former Gov. Jose P. Icaonapo Jr. of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in Metro Manila, prominent election lawyer Francisco B. Sibayan, lawyer and certified public accountant Godofredo V. Arquiza of the GVA Accounting & Law Firm, lawyer-journalist Reden S. Viaje, law practitioner, and professor Cesar B. Brillantes and labor-management consultant and general law practitioner Ernesto S. Dinopol.

Icaonapo is a three-time president of the Philippine Trial Lawyers Association and president of the IBP Manila Chapter III that founded a free legal assistance office in Manila for indigent litigants, while Sibayan won landmark election cases in the Supreme Court.

Arquiza has been a law and accounting practitioner for the past 40 years. Aside from the fact that he could be the first CPA-lawyer to be appointed Comelec commissioner, his experience in the printing industry for more than 40 years could help the poll body solve once and for all its recurring problems arising from the printing of official ballots and other accountable forms.

Brillantes, aside from being a successful law practitioner and professor, is one of the top councilors in San Juan, Ilocos Sur, while Dinopol, a retired commissioner of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and former president of the National Labor Arbiters Association, served as legal counsel of the Committee on Economic Affairs of the House of Representatives.

Viaje has earned prominence in law practice since his graduation from a law school as a working student.