Comelec partners with Demwatch

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) signed an agreement yesterday with election watchdog Democracy Watch Philippines or Demwatch to help promote voter education among the youth and first-time voters.

Commissioner Socorro Inting, Comelec acting chair, stressed the importance of the partnership with Demwatch since young voters make up the majority of the electorate for the May 9 elections.

“Young voters actually constitute a huge chunk of the total number of registered voters. Hence, putting emphasis on educating the youth shall definitely create a big impact on the selection of our leaders come May 9,” Inting said.

Earlier, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said 56 percent of total registered voters are aged 18 to 41, making the youth “prime movers” in the national and local elections.

Inting assured Demwatch of Comelec’s full support to its “Vote Right 2022,” which is a virtual voter education campaign targeting young voters.

For its part, Demwatch vowed to highlight facts in history to raise awareness on various issues and provide its audience the tools to make an informed choice before casting their ballots.

Party-list lineup

Comelec officials also addressed criticisms of the poll body over its choice of 177 party-list groups vying for seats in Congress in the elections and a Baguio court’s issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) on implementing certain campaign rules.?

“There are reactions that the party-list groups were used as a backdoor to enter the legislative branch. On the part of the Comelec… we are guided by criteria and requirements,” said Commissioner Aimee Ferolino.

She said the lineup of 177 party-list groups was decided by the Comelec based on the guidelines in approving the applications for accreditation.

“It is for the people, the voters, to decide and to discern properly what party-list groups to choose during the elections,” she said.

Inting also emphasized that the Comelec “merely enforces election laws and legal jurisprudence decided by the Supreme Court (SC)” in approving the accreditation of the party-list groups.

Election watchdog Kontra Daya had flagged around 122, or 70 percent of the 177 party-list groups, for allegedly not embodying the spirit of representing marginalized sectors.

In its report, Kontra Daya alleged that 44 party-list groups are controlled by political clans; 21 are linked to big business; 34 have unknown or unclear advocacies and representations and 32 are connected with the government or military.

It also showed that 26 have incumbent local officials running as party-list nominees and 19 have pending court cases or criminal charges.

TRO covers Baguio only

On the TRO issued by a Baguio Regional Trial Court on the implementation of Comelec Resolution No. 10732, Inting said the RTC does not have jurisdiction over the poll body.

Comelec Resolution No. 10732 requires, among others, that candidates apply for a permit from the Comelec Campaign Committee (CCC) before securing a permit from the local government unit for their in-person campaign activities.?Inting said the Comelec resolution will continue to be implemented except in areas covered by the court decision in Baguio City.

“The jurisdiction of Baguio City is only within Baguio. Unlike Manila courts where their jurisdiction is nationwide, throughout the Philippines… they have not acquired jurisdiction over us,” she said of the TRO.

Inting replied in the affirmative when asked if they will continue implementing the resolution except in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

In another development, the Comelec chief said they would “likely” grant the request of the office of Vice President Leni Robredo to exempt her COVID-19 response projects from the spending ban during the campaign period “as long as it is compliant with existing laws.”

Still pending

Meanwhile, a group of Ilocanos known as “Pudno Nga Ilocano” filed yesterday a motion to resolve their petition to disqualify presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before the Comelec.

The group is represented by former Comelec chairman Christian Monsod.

Lawyer for the petitioners, Ray Paolo Santigao, filed the motion and told reporters it serves the purpose of calling the poll body’s attention to the Marcos disqualification case that had not yet been resolved.

“We filed (the motion) because the other cases before the First Division have already been decided, but in the Second Division, it’s taking longer,” said Santiago in Filipino. “From the time we filed our memorandum, petitioners and respondents on Jan. 17, it has already been 46 days and there is still no resolution.”?He said that while the petitioners understand that there are only four commissioners at the moment, it is no excuse for the Comelec to delay the resolution of the case with the elections fast approaching.

The Comelec is currently manned by Commissioners Inting, Ferolino, Marlon Casquejo and Rey Bulay.

Santiago emphasized the importance of resolving the case the soonest possible time so that they will be able to determine their next legal steps, either to appeal the case before the Comelec en banc or elevate it to the Supreme Court (SC) should they get unfavorable decisions from the commissioners.

For her part, Inting said that she is not aware of the case as it was filed before the Comelec First Division, or during the time when she was still assigned to the Second Division, but said that she directed the ponente to fast-track the resolution.

The First Division was then composed of retired commissioner Rowena Guanzon with Ferolino and Casquejo as members when the petition was filed by the Pudno Nga Ilocano.