ELECTIONS Commissioner Romeo Brawner succumbed to a heart attack Thursday while he was confined at a hospital in Quezon City, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced.

Elections Commissioner Rene Sarmiento confirmed the death of his colleague Thursday, saying the death of Brawner was a big loss for the elections body.

“Commissioner Brawner was an independent-minded man and he was really into electoral reforms,” Sarmiento told reporters Thursday.

He added: “He is like a big brother to me and I even called him “Manong.”

The sudden demise of Brawner should prompt the President to fill up the already three vacancies in the Comelec in time for the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said Chairman Henrietta de Villa of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).

“We are moved even more to press for the appointment of new Comelec commissioners now totaling three. This will gravely affect the ARMM polls, especially at this crucial time of poll automation,” de Villa said in an interview with reporters Thursday.

The supposed seven-man Comelec en banc is now composed of four Comelec officials led by Chairman Jose Melo and Commissioners Rene Sarmiento, Nicodemo Ferrer and Moslemen Macarambon.

Melo and Macarambon have yet to be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments.

De Villa expressed sadness over the death of Brawner, whom she said “was a man of courage, integrity and determination.”

“Shocked...although shock is a mild reference to what PPCRV felt with the sudden death of Brawner, especially at this time. During the 2007 election there is always his accessibility and openness to help clarify election confusion,” de Villa said in a statement.

De Villa also said the death of Brawner is both a personal and communal loss for election stakeholders.

The PPCRV has been urging Malacañang to fill up the two vacancies in the Comelec en banc in time for the scheduled special elections in the ARMM in August this year.

Former commissioners Florentino Tuason and Resurreccion Borra retired early this year. (With P. Atienza)

Cabinet studies ways to cut power rates

THE Cabinet Study Group tasked to look into the issue of power rates has created a technical working group to further thresh out the recommendations made by top executives of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) during a meeting on Thursday.

THE National Association of Electricity Consumers (Nasecore) Thursday filed a P889 million large-scale estafa case before the Department of Justice against officials of the Lopez-managed Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) in connection with the power distributor’s move to convert as income the interest earned by the meter and bill deposits of its subscribers.

THE question of whether the proxy solicitation done by the Lopez bloc is illegal or not will be determined Friday afternoon in a hearing supervised by corporate regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

ZAMBOANGA CITY—A powerful bomb exploded outside the main gate of the Col. Edwin Andrews Air Base (EAAB) that houses the 3rd Air Division of the Air Force (PAF) in barangay Santa Maria this city, killing two people and wounding 21 others.

POLICE tracking down the assailants in the bloody bank robbery in Cabuyao, Laguna, two weeks ago killed a man and arrested five others in simultaneous operations in the province and in Batangas, Thursday.

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said the government remains optimistic that the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, will reduce the penalty of Filipino migrant workers May Vecina and Marilou Ranario, who have been sentenced to die by hanging.

ELECTIONS Commissioner Romeo Brawner succumbed to a heart attack Thursday while he was confined at a hospital in Quezon City, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced.