By Raadee Sausa September 26, 2020 Rep. David 'Jayjay' Suarez of Quezon....
September 26, 2020
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| Rep. David 'Jayjay' Suarez of Quezon. (Screengrab from YouTube Video HOUSE HEARING: Budget allocation for the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) | September 24, 2020.) |
LUCENA CITY - Rep. David 'Jayjay' Suarez of Quezon led the Commission on Elections (Comelec's) Budget Hearing on the Proposed National Budget for 2021 at the House of Representatives on Thursday. HOUSE HEARING: Budget allocation for the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) | September 24, 2020
During the hearing, the Election commission said it is ramping up efforts on alternative media to launch webinars and disseminate information on voting registration and processes amid the pandemic.
Comelec Executive Director Bartolome Sinocruz said that filing of the certificates of candidacy may also be done online to ensure health and safety protocols in localities.
"In the filing of COCs (certificates of candidacy), the idea is to open them up by positions. A certain number of days will be allotted for municipal or city councilors, certain days for mayors and vice mayors, same thing will happen with provincial election level," he said.
There may also designated days per precinct and per position on voting day. Voting by mail may also be implemented for senior citizens, Sinocruz added.
Number of people per polling precinct may be limited to five to observe physical distancing.
"Holding of elections will be for two days para ma-regulate yung boboto (to regulate voting procedures). Some precincts will vote on the first day, some will be on the second day," Sinocruz added.
Amid the pandemic, the Comelec projects that there will be around 63 million by 2022 from 61 million voters in 2019.
Moreover, the Comelec is also seeking a higher budget next year to prepare for a safer conduct of the 2022 elections in case of a protracted pandemic.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said that a huge chunk of their proposed budget is intended to increase the number of vote-counting machines (VCMs) to lessen contact, assuming a "new normal" scenario with no coronavirus vaccine.
"The Comelec wants to make sure elections will be safe by 2022 for our voters. This is why we appeal to Congress to restore our budget so that we could properly respond to the needs of the agency, including a higher number of voting machines," he said.
The Comelec initially proposed a P30.673-billion budget for 2021, but the Department of Budget and Management slashed it to only P14.565 billion. Of the proposed P23 billion for the lease of machines and other preparatory activities for the general elections, P8.8 billion has only been approved in the National Expenditure Program.
"We expect that we will have more voters by then because year on year, the list of voters increases. When voters increase and crowd in polling places over one machine, that would be more unsafe, given the pandemic today," Jimenez said.
"One of the cornerstones of that campaign is to ensure na mas kaunti ang gagamit per machine [that there will be lesser voters assigned for each machine], which means we're going to need more machines than the ones that we have now," he said.
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