Comelec chief warns of congressional crisis

Unless the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gets its budget soon, the country may be looking at an empty Congress next year.

Comelec Chairwoman Harriet Demetriou expressed fears yesterday that all 224 congressional seats may be declared vacant due to the lack of funding for the holding of national and local elections in May.

Demetriou explained that the poll body needs to have the budget by January for the purchase of ballot paper, indelible ink and other voting paraphernalia.

"We are entering a critical stage where we should have the money by next month or else the Comelec will no longer have sufficient time for the holding of the May 14 elections," she said.

Failure to hold the polls, the Comelec chief pointed out, could lead to a serious political and democratic crisis since outgoing senators and congressmen would not have replacements.

Unlike local government units where elected officials can continue holding on to their posts pending the election of a successor, senators and congressmen would have to vacate their seats once their term ends.

"We are looking at a possibly empty Congress since the Constitution prohibits holdover positions," Demetriou said.

The Comelec chief said she has been asking Congress to release the needed funds so a suspension of elections can be averted.

"At this point, we won’t be postponing the May polls since we are hopeful that Congress will release our budget on time," she said.