Comelec backs proposed law on BSKE postponement

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is supporting the proposal of Sen. Francis Tolentino to have a law that will provide guidelines in postponing future barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

Comelec Chairman George Garcia yesterday said they agree that there is a need for the passage of the “Election Postponement Act” in Congress.

“Comelec supports any initiative that will ensure genuine periodic elections and guarantees the right of suffrage of all Filipinos,” Garcia said in a phone interview.

He said they are confident that having such a law will help clearly establish the basis for future postponement of BSKEs, instead of having them postponed by lawmakers for various reasons.

“We will be guided by the Supreme Court decision on the limitations regarding postponement of elections,” Garcia added.

Tolentino is pushing for the passage of the Election Postponement Act that will detail specific guidelines on deferring barangay and youth polls.

He said the legislation shall include the five requirements laid down by the Supreme Court on when the BSKE can be postponed.

The SC earlier declared as unconstitutional the law that postponed the BSKE from Dec. 5, 2022 to the last Monday of October 2023.

Gun ban

The Comelec yesterday said that close to 250 applications for gun ban exemptions ahead of the BSKE have failed the pre-evaluation stage.

Data released by the Comelec’s Committee on the Ban on Firearms and Security Concerns (CBFSC) showed there were 249 gun ban exemption applications that did not pass pre-evaluation.

“As of June 30, 2023, there are a total of 272 applications received. However, only 23 applications passed the pre-evaluation stage and were considered as duly filed,” the CBFSC said.

According to the poll body, most of the applications that failed to pass the pre-evaluation stage were due to the submission of incomplete requirements and/or non-compliance with the guidelines provided under Comelec Resolution No. 10918.

As for those that passed pre-evaluation, the CBFSC said 13 of the applications have been denied, including those of security details, cashiers and law enforcement agencies.

Six applications are still pending, including those of security detail, law enforcement agency, security agencies and cashiers.

Meanwhile, two applicants have been approved to have gun ban exemptions, particularly a high-risk individual and one with certificate of accreditation. Ordered deferred are the applications of two others, specifically law enforcement agencies.

The CBFSC tripartite body, which conducts the final evaluation and deliberation of applications, is composed of the Comelec, Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines.

On June 5, the CBFSC started receiving applications for gun ban exemptions or Certificate of Authority for the Oct. 30 polls. The Comelec set the election period for the Oct. 30 BSKE from Aug. 28 to Nov. 29.

The bearing, carrying or transporting of firearms or other deadly weapons in public places during the election period is strictly prohibited unless authorized in writing by the commission.

Poll watchers

Family ties and being friends with candidates might prevent the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) from fielding a full plantilla of poll watcher volunteers during the Oct. 30 BSKE.

PPCRV national coordinator Arwin Serrano yesterday said that with regard to poll watching in the upcoming Oct. 30 BSKE, “there is a big possibility that we would not be able to fill the 100 percent.”

For the BSKE, Serrano said they are targeting 250,000 volunteers, which is less than the presidential elections held during the pandemic year 2022, when they had 400,000 volunteers nationwide.

He explained that the number of volunteers decrease during village elections “because many of our volunteers have relatives who are running for either a barangay or an SK position and they are supporting them. While some have neighbors or kumpares who are running so they could not be a PPCRV volunteer.”

“The PPCRV is a non-partisan (organization) so they would have to go on leave as volunteers,” he added.

What the Church-based poll watch group intends to maintain 100 percent presence on the day of the village elections is their voters assistance desk. They hope to deploy four to 10 volunteers in every voting center.

The PPCRV also has local coordinators, some of whom go around and visit polling centers that have few volunteers.

But even if they have lesser volunteers during a BSKE, the PPCRV official said there are others who also guard the sanctity of the ballots inside the polling precincts.

Since the barangay and SK represent smaller communities, chances are they are neighbors and know each other and they could question unfamiliar faces who might attempt to cast votes in their precinct. — Evelyn Macairan