Where angels fear to thread
When retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Jose Melo replaced Benjamin Abalos as Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chair, many were optimistic that reforms will finally be instituted in the poll body. That optimism was further bolstered with the appointment of Atty. Ferdinand Rafanan as the newest Director of the Law Department.
A student achiever since his elementary years in Ilocos Sur, Atty. Rafanan took up Political Science at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, and later earned his law degree from the UP College of Law. He took the bar examinations in 1983, passing it with an average of 86.05 percent.
He started government service in 1988 as a Public Attorney with the Public Attorneys Office. In 1998, he became Provincial Election Supervisor in Ilocos Sur. He rose through the ranks to become Assistant Regional Election Director in Region I, and later as Regional Election Director in the National Capital Region.
An outspoken official against corruption and irregularities in the COMELEC, Atty. Rafanan has ruffled feathers of the mighty and powerful. During the 2004 elections, he went against candidates violating rules on campaign advertisements. For that, he was removed as COMELEC NCR Director and was transferred to Region 8. The Commission returned him to NCR after the elections.
In 2006, he refused to validate the signatures of the government-led people’s initiative to change the Constitution because of the standing Supreme Court ruling against the initiative law. For the second time, he was removed as NCR Director, publicly castigated for “insubordination”, and “floated” or detailed to then Chairman Abalos’s office.
THE LOBBYiST (TL): You have been frozen and re-assigned several times during the incumbency of Chairman Benjamin Abalos. You have been characterized as a maverick. Where do you get the zeal and energy to just continue on with the battle?
Ferdinand Rafanan (FR): I am interested in my work, and I know that I am in COMELEC for a purpose and it is this purpose that drives me. I am here for public service. I am here to rectify what is wrong. Since I am sure that this is what I am here for, I have the energy. I know that it is not being accomplished, so I continue to move on, to forge ahead. In fact, as early as 2003, I was asked if I would like to accept another job by a high-ranking government official. Without thinking and without even asking what that job might be, I said, “I have work to do in COMELEC.”
TL: Was the offer something outside COMELEC?
FR: It must be outside COMELEC, but I didn’t even bother to ask anymore. I replied immediately that I have work to do in COMELEC. And I still feel that way.
TL: What makes you different from the rest of the groups inside COMELEC? What makes you different from, say people who have the ears and the eyes of the Commission?
FR: I have only one consideration when I do my job: Is it right? And then that’s what I pursue. I do not care whether somebody else will be pleased by this or by that thing, by what I am going to say or do. I just consider whether it is right or wrong. When it is wrong, I will not like to do it, even if it would please somebody else that could do me favors in the future. I just see if it is right, and if it is right, I do it. I think that makes me different. I also do not get satisfaction from others’ approval. I get satisfaction for doing the right thing.
TL: Pardon me for asking, but are you for real? Some people, when they hear the word “COMELEC” they automatically associate it with fraud and corruption. Are you really the real deal, or nagmamalinis lang kayo [you’re just washing your hands clean]?
FR: What I am saying is that it is not for free. I pay for the cost, and I continue paying for the cost. I mean when you stand up for something, you must be willing to pay the price. I have been willing to pay the price, and I have been paying the price. I suffered for it, and I went through a lot of adversities because of the pursuit of what is right. To that extent, I think it is for real. I do not say that I am completely as real as what you think; I do not even know to what extent is to be real. Of course I have some faults; I have flaws of my own. But I think in the main, I am in the pursuit of what is right.
TL: What do you consider as the biggest challenge that you are facing right now in COMELEC in general?
FR: COMELEC, in general I think, is facing a crisis of credibility. We are facing a crisis of our constitutional attribute of (institutional) independence. We are also facing a crisis that is common to all of us in government, and that is corruption. So these are our main problems: corruption, shaky independence, and credibility.
TL: How about in your Department, what are the challenges that you will be facing?
FR: I only heard about corruption here but I haven’t verified it; I am only two weeks here. But I feel that one thing that I have to work on here is the level of competence of the personnel, not only inside my department but for all the lawyers. I say this because I have found out that many election offense cases are being handled not by COMELEC lawyers but public prosecutors. I think this is a relinquishment of our constitutional duty to investigate and prosecute election offense cases. So I want COMELEC lawyers to take over and assert our constitutional role.
TL: COMELEC has been receiving a lot of flak lately. Do you think that these are fair allegations?
FR: I think these are fair allegations; there maybe exaggerations but in the main, these allegations have substance.
TL: How do you intend to address these concerns?
FR: Concerning corruption?
TL: Corruption when it comes to the COMELEC, to the electoral system?
FR: We should start by having someone at the top who is not corrupt or who does not support corruption. For my part I think that by accepting the appointment here already complies with that need. Now, as to our actions here, I have started telling the public that litigants who give money here should forget their money. It doesn’t work to win their cases here. They should consider the law, procedures, and substantive justice, meaning they should rely entirely on the merit of their case. They should not consider friendships, close relationships, or other factors outside the merit of their cases.
I have started telling that to the public, and I think that is another step. Since I am the Director of the Law Department, all others who should be handling complaints or cases should follow these directives, otherwise they will have to be disciplined and if they insist, they should be removed from COMELEC. There shall be no fixers. There shall be no name-droppings, and there shall be no acceptance of any kind of gift or bribe. There shall be no conversations outside of the office. There shall be no middlemen. If any litigant should wish to tell us something about his case, he should tell us through his lawyer, or through pleadings properly filed in this office or in the Commission.
TL: You are known to be a reform-minded public servant. What will be the reforms that you intend to suggest to the Commission en banc?
FR: I would suggest that we discipline our people. We shall not close our eyes to violations of election laws in the guise of protecting them as members of our family. I think that is wrong. A good father he should discipline his son or daughter, and a good father should not excuse the wrongdoings of his children. A good father should discipline his children. It might hurt sometimes, but that is necessary in order to build a good family. It is necessary to build a good institution. We should not tolerate wrongdoings.
TL: How do you intend to resolve election-related issues here in the Law Department, to make the process more effective and efficient in disposing of cases?
FR: We will give our lawyers deadlines. I will be relying on only two computer files: one file will be the names of all COMELEC lawyers who are handling cases, so I will be able to monitor what cases are assigned to each lawyer and how many cases are assigned to each lawyer. The other file will be a list of all the cases, and from this list I will be able to see the status of the cases and to whom they are assigned. I think that will be enough to monitor all the cases and to see who are the lawyers who are doing much and who are the lawyers who are doing little.
TL: But do you give them instructions like, for example, they need to dispose a particular case in two months?
FR: I will give them deadlines. In the Law Department, I have plans to confer with the lawyers at least once a week concerning the cases assigned to them. We will discuss the problems they are encountering, and what might be a good theory concerning particular cases, so that in the research they are properly guided. I will also conduct lectures and seminars for them. I have already informed them about this; in fact they have already asked me when this would start. We will update our lawyers on election laws. We will brush up on our skills in legal technique and procedure, in the conduct of preliminary investigations, and in the preparation of resolutions and the criminal information. These are technical skills that should be honed, and this can be done only when I monitor their competence. If I do not care at all, neither will they care about it. But I care.
TL: Your position has been very controversial one. Your two predecessors were killed presumably because of their work. Has there been any instance during your two-week appointment as Law Department Head that you received death threats?
FR: No, none. And I do not expect to receive any death threat or any kind of threat at all. I do not expect that.
TL: Why is that?
FR: It’s because I do not intend to do anything wrong in my job, and I do not intend to be partial. I do not intend to favor anyone. I do not accept any bribe. So there are no reasons at all for any threats. But if ever there will be threats, I hope that our decisions or our actions will not be influenced by these threats; we will be more careful.
TL: Do you think we will ever have a clean and honest election?
FR: Yes, otherwise why should I stay? I have that hope. Once a COMELEC official loses that hope, he should leave the Commission on Elections because he becomes a stumbling block. But for as long as we have this hope, then our acts can be meaningful.
TL: Is there any reason to be optimistic in 2010?
FR: There is a reason to be optimistic. There is a reason to be optimistic because our status now of low credibility did not just happen, or did not just come about as something natural. It happened because there are causes, and these causes can be prevented, minimized, or eliminated. These are not a built-in in the institution; these are incidences to particular persons, or to particular places, particular situations. Therefore when these incidents pass, we will have a strong institution. We will have credibility. We will have clean elections, and the Commission of Election will become an institution of excellence.
TL: Do you think we can do this by 2010 elections?
FR: Maybe, but not completely probably, because we have little time left. But we can indicate the direction, that people should be able to see that we are headed towards the right direction, and that by 2010 we shall have done substantive change, and I believe that the change will be noticeable.
TL: You think that the mistakes during the 2007 and especially the 2004 elections will not be replicated?
FR: Yes, I hope so. We are rushing up on the complaints and cases arising from wrongdoings in previous elections, and hopefully finish before the ARMM (Autonomous Region on Muslim Mindanao) elections on August 11. This should serve as a signal to all those who will be participating in the ARMM elections. We will be filing criminal cases and we will be disciplining some of our people; this will be a good signal to them, and before 2010, I trust that we shall have some convictions and there will be some dismissals. So, we will see that Chairman Jose Melo really means business, and in my own little way, I also mean business.
TL: How do you characterize the incumbent Commission? Do you think Chairman Melo is really up to the task of cleaning up COMELEC?
FR: Yes, the first indicator is their choice of me as Director of the Law Department. (Laughs) You know, I have pending cases in the Law Department which I believe were fabricated. There are false and malicious accusations designed to destroy me or compel me to resign. But despite these cases which incidentally were brought up during my interview for my application for this position, despite these things they still chose me.
In fact, the main reason why I applied for this position was to see how the present commissioners, especially the Chairman, would treat me, would consider me, and I said that if the new commissioners led by the new Chairman, Jose Melo, would choose me, it means that they are ready for change. If they do not choose me, then they want to preserve the status quo. Anyway I said I still love the NCR (Regional Office); I still have many things to do there, and I’ll just be as happy to remain in the NCR. In fact I was ambivalent in coming to the Law Department. My only purpose really was to test the waters; how I stood in the Commission and whether the Commission was ready for change. That was my primary purpose.
TL: Do you think that your appointment as Legal Department Head is a vindication of what happened to you in the past?
FR: Yes, they may not see it as vindication, but I see it as vindication, not just in the ordinary sense. For me, it is divine vindication. It is divine vindication because it was a persecution of someone who wanted to do right, and it was a persecution by the people who are doing the wrong things in COMELEC, those who wanted to reign despite their malpractices. But I survived through prayers. I survived by not going to the politicians but through prayers. So my survival is not an ordinary vindication; it is a divine vindication.
TL: How’s your typical day look like?
FR: Well, I look at the folders and the cases on my table. I do my best to complete the tasks for the day. I also see that my staff is in the office. I accept visitors; they always come. They occupy much of my time, but I know I have to give them that. Sometimes, I have interviews with the media.
Sometimes my kids are with me. You know that girl who left earlier is my second daughter. She studies at PLM (Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila), and she just left for home. On weekends, my other kids go with me in the office. Now that I am working overtime at the Law Department, I bring them into the office then we all go home together. In the evening when I arrive home early, I also play with them but this past two weeks they were already asleep. Maybe one or two are still awake, watching TV. I ask them what happened in school, then that’s it. I even become sleepy already; sometimes I sleep ahead of them. Sometimes when I arrive at home around 10 or 11 in the evening, I sleep in the car and when I get home I go directly to bed. But I always find time for my kids. On Sundays I go with them to church. My first two daughters are choir members in the church.
TL: Do you still find time to relax, given all the things happening in COMELEC right now?
FR: You know it is not as heavy as you think (my work in the Law Department). I find some time to walk, go to the spa together with my wife.
TL: What are the books you are reading right now?
FR: I’m reading The Art of War by Sun Tzu, also Winning with People by John Maxwell. I’m also reading Purpose Driven Life. There are some other books, and I read the Bible everyday, every morning, with Daily Bread.
TL: What did your family – your wife and kids – say when you got re-assigned or placed in the freezer?
FR: (Laughs) When I was ‘frozen,’ my wife was very encouraging. Of course it hurts; it hurts me. It hurts them, my wife and my children. In fact one morning at 4 o’clock, my third daughter came to our room, knocking. When I opened the door, she embraced me. She was crying and I asked why. Then she said, “Papa, akala ko nawala ka na [I thought you were already gone].” Maybe she heard from our conversations that I was removed from the office, and it must’ve registered in her subconscious so she dreamed about it. It was then that I realized how serious my situation was. Some of my other kids told me that their teachers in schools were telling them that they were praying for me, and the guard in their school told my kids that I was his idol. You know I didn’t realize that people were watching, and that something unusual was happening, and my family was being affected. But we took it positively.
TL: What makes Atty. Rafanan tick?
FR: What irritates me? When I give instructions, and I am not understood. (Laughs) I know I have to be patient. What else? When people don’t follow orders, who disobey me, those irritate me. I am also irritated by absentees or tardy people. When I hear about some rumored petty corruption, I get mad.
TL: Would you say that there are still good and decent individuals in COMELEC?
FR: Yes, I think there are. They are so many here, compared to those who are corrupt or who would cheat. I think there are only a few who would cheat but those who are honest try to go along with them especially when they (alleged cheaters) hold key positions and so the honest people are overshadowed: they are afraid. They lie-low. In so doing, they in effect allow the wrong things to happen. I believe that when somebody stands for what is right and he succeeds, the honest people will come out, and will line up behind him, and join him. That’s what I’ve been waiting for.
TL: Has there been any instance when you just want to pack up your bags, move away from all these things, and give up on government work?
FR: Let me see. When I was banished to Region 8, it did not occur to my mind although it was suggested by many. I simply rejected it. I don’t even think about it because my principle is that I don’t want to run away from a good fight. I fight and I do not surrender.
When I was removed from NCR earlier than that and transferred to the Education and Information Department on October 20, 2003, I was so mad. I was so saddened. But I did not think of leaving. I was persuaded by a good friend to accept the assignment in the EID. He was my classmate. I soon got up, and forgot my hurts, and did very well in the EID. When I was floated or detailed in the Chairman’s office to do nothing beginning December 07, 2006, I did not think of leaving COMELEC. I think I was filled with optimism that I will be able to go through it because I know I am innocent. There was no legal basis at all for my detail, or for my removal from the NCR, and so I believe, deep in my heart, that I will be vindicated.
In fact, I came out with a challenge in my talks, because I was being invited to talk in different fora or in different speaking engagements. I came up with ‘MARISA’ as a quote: ‘MA’ for ‘Manindigan [Take a stand]’, ‘RI’ for ‘Right shall prevail’, ‘SA’ for ‘Salt and Light’. I was hurling this challenge to my audience every time I talk. I was challenging my audience to stand up, believe that right shall prevail. And my audience, if they are Christians, should believe that they should be the salt and light in society. I was making this challenge when I was being rejected in COMELEC. It means that at the height or at the depth of my sufferings I was optimistic. I was even challenging people. I did not think of leaving COMELEC.
TL: When you retire, would you recommend your kids to work here at the COMELEC?
FR: (Laughs) Maybe they will just follow my example. In fact all of my kids want to be lawyers. But maybe if I fail and become hopeless, of course I will not be recommending it anymore. But you are talking of retirement, and we do not know what the future holds. But I can only speak for today and for what has happened so far. For today, yes, I would recommend that they come and join us in COMELEC, reform it, and make it the institution that it is meant to be. Fifteen years from now – that is my retirement (laughs) – I hope that we shall be successful in pursuing the reforms in COMELEC, and I can recommend to my children to join COMELEC also.
TL: If you were asked by Chairman Melo to make recommendations to reform COMELEC, give us three and why?
FR: Pursue the computerization of the elections. Re-orient our people and train them to become competent. Number three is that we should upgrade our positions as well as our salaries.
When I say upgrading our positions, you know, there are many things that are wrong in the position qualification in the COMELEC. I have been repeatedly proposing the restructuring of the personnel items. But since 2001, these remained unacted upon. I have been training and orienting our people in the NCR, you know, on my own. There is really no institutional support for that. I want this to happen nationwide. Of course with these training-orientations should necessarily come disciplinary actions; you can not properly orient people if there are no corresponding punishments for those who did wrong. I think I can accurately say that there is practically no discipline, meaning there is practically no punishment for erring officials. So in training and orienting our people, discipline should come with it.
When I said computerization of elections, I am not referring only to the casting of votes and the counting, but the entire system which includes the manner in which we work, the machine that we use, and the mental or intellectual frame of our people so that it would be a well-rounded modernization.
TL: What would you want to be your legacy when you leave COMELEC?
FR: I’ve been always telling the personnel of the COMELEC NCR that I would like to be remembered as the one who initiated and sustained voter’s education. I think I would still say that. The coverage of voter’s education program that would be expanded now in the light of my present position and that should been educating our own lawyers and the electorate concerning election laws. You know the election laws are intended to accomplish what they are in the first place, I think up to now I honestly say that I want to be remembered as the one who initiated and sustained a systematic education program. But we have really done, we have started doing that in the NCR, we were suppressed, they were discouraged and even threatened the subordination for voter’s education inspire instructions from above that we would stop it. So it is the legacy that I want and which I pursued not only despite of the position but despite orders to the contrary.
Interview by Jayson Edward B. San Juan Photos taken by Leluck del Rosario
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
