Double duty for Comelec in next few years

MANILA, Philippines — For 2025, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) would have to prepare not just for one election, but two.

While a barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) will take place on Oct. 30, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said in yesterday’s Laging Handa public briefing that the Supreme Court (SC) has also ordered another village polls in 2025.

The SC, in its decision, declared unconstitutional the previous postponement of the BSKE and ordered another village polls to be set on the first Monday of December 2025. But for that year, the poll body has only been preparing for the midterm polls and has planned on introducing a new system and new automated counting machines.

“We would be very busy and preoccupied with the preparations of two elections in 2025 – the national and local elections in May and the BSKE in December as ordered by the Supreme Court,” Garcia said.

Since they would have to prepare for two elections, the commission has to plan carefully how it would execute the preparations and conduct of these suffrage exercises.

“But because of the SC’s decision, it seems that there would be an additional budget and there should be a decision on whether the BSKE 2025 would be automated. Of course, this would entail additional cost,” he added.

The Comelec is set to conduct pilot-test of automated BSKE elections in Barangay Zone II Poblacion and Paliparan II in Dasmariñas, Cavite and in Barangay Pasong Tamo in Quezon City.

“If the pilot-testing becomes successful, our plan is to automate the BSKE. Since it (2025 BSKE) would be done earlier, from the point of view of planning, wouldn’t it be better if we automate the May national and local elections and automate the BSKE in December 2025?” Garcia said.

He added that 91 million ballots have so far been printed and that 1.3 million more in additional ballots – which covers the registered voters who applied from Dec. 12 last year to Jan. 31, 2023 – would be printed this July.

“We didn’t print these ballots immediately because we waited for the removal of multiple and double registrants… It will only take one week to print them, including verification,” Garcia pointed out.

In reaction to the SC decision, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said the high court ruling means that those to be elected in October would only serve for two years or from Jan. 1, 2024 until Dec. 31, 2025.

Macalintal is the lead petitioner in the case that asked the SC to outlaw Republic Act 11935, which moved the BSKE from December 2022 to this Oct. 30.

In a statement, the Legal Network for Truthful Elections welcomed the SC’s decision that declared unconstitutional RA 11935.

“Barangay officials are the closest government officials that Filipinos interact with in their daily lives. Hence, the conduct of the Barangay and SK Elections this October 2023 would finally allow the people to choose their leaders and assess their performance in the past years,” it added.

Dr. Arwin Serrano of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting also said in an interview with Radio Veritas that Congress would now have to think twice before passing legislation to defer future village polls.