Comelec to hold conference on barangay, SK elections prep

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to hold a management conference next week to discuss its preparations for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in October this year.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said in a Viber message that all of the poll body’s field officials are expected to attend the management conference, as he emphasized that all preparations for the barangay and SK elections (BSKE) will be discussed.

“All of our field officials will be present. All preparations for the BSKE and 2025 elections [will be discussed],” Garcia said in Filipino.

Asked if the Comelec is prepared for the BSKE, Garcia responded in the affirmative as he emphasized that they are ready “regardless of the outcome of the petition” filed against the poll body before the Supreme Court (SC).

Garcia was referring to the petition filed by election lawyer Romulo Macalintal in October 2022, asking the SC to nullify Republic Act 11935, which postponed the BSKE from Dec. 5, 2022 to Oct. 30, 2023.

A few months later, Macalintal filed his second petition before the SC asking the Comelec to prepare for the BSKE should his first petition be granted, allowing the Comelec to conduct the elections by May of this year.

Garcia said they are set to print next month the additional 1.6 million manual ballots, which they target to finish by the third week of May, to be deployed to different Comelec offices nationwide by July this year.

He said they are set to conduct the training for the electoral board members by August.