While he is not a career official who rose from the Comelec ranks unlike some of the present Comelec commissioners, Pangarungan is a lawyer with years of experience in government, from appointive to elective positions. PHVote WeDecide READ:
MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte named National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Secretary Saidamen Pangarungan as the new chairman of the Commission on Elections , becoming only the second Muslim and Mindanaoan to lead the poll body, after his predecessor, Sheriff Abas.
After the success of the 1986 EDSA uprising, then-president Corazon Aquino appointed Pangarungan as acting governor of Lanao del Sur. In 1988, he ran for a full term and served until 1992.The Corazon Aquino administration also had Pangarungan as one of its interior undersecretaries. In July 2018, Duterte appointed Pangarungan to the NCMF, and in 2019, he headed the delegation of Filipino pilgrims to Mecca. The delegation was almost barred from participating due to an outstanding debt of the NCMF to a company handling some hajj-related activities, prompting Pangarungan toPangarungan graduated in 1971 with a liberal arts degree from San Beda College, where he was “a consistent college scholar,” according to the NCMF website.
With all eyes on the disqualification saga, Pangarungan faces an important task of speeding up the resolution of the cases at the soonest possible time.