WITH only 45 days before the October 30 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday asked the Philippine National Police to submit its list of “areas of concern” before the end of the month.
Comelec chairman George Garcia appealed to the leaderships of the PNP, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to submit the list of “election hotspots” as soon as possible.
“Please immediately submit your findings so that we can already consolidate them at the provincial and regional levels,” said Garcia during a joint press conference with the PNP.
“Again, our deadline and timetable is more or less by the end of September,” he added.
The poll chief said they need the list of areas of concern so that they can plan their deployment and security operations.
“It is almost October so we need them before the end of September so that the Comelec will know our movement and our plan of actions,” said Garcia.
Earlier, the PNP said they have 27 areas currently under the “red” category, 232 areas under “orange” category; 4,085 under “yellow” category; and 37,683 under “green” category.
During the press conference, the PNP said the list is continuously undergoing validation and revalidation.
Garcia said they understand why it is taking the PNP, AFP, and PCG a long time before submitting their lists.
“When you say areas of concern, it is not just the PNP. They are also waiting for the AFP because it is possible that they have different assessments. That is why we need to reconcile these lists,” said Garcia.
MALABANG, LANAO DEL SUR
Garcia said they need the list as soon as possible so they can decide whether to place Malabang town in Lanao del Sur under its control or not.
According to Garcia, they will wait for the recommendation of their security partners before they make a decision following the indiscriminate firing incident that attended the filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COC) in the municipality.
“We are still waiting for the report of the PNP. More or less, the balance will always be in favor of following the recommendations of the security forces because we really rely on them on these matters,” said Garcia.
He, however, stressed that it is not impossible for the Comelec to take the opposite direction from the recommendations of the PNP.
“In the final analysis, the Comelec will have the final say as to what areas are declared under Comelec control, categorized as red, orange, yellow, or green,” he said.
Garcia said he personally believes that the town should be placed under Comelec control due to the involvement of local government officials.
“It is not just the two who surrendered that are involved. There is politics involved. In my own opinion, as a lawyer, it must be placed under Comelec control,” said Garcia.
Under Comelec control, the poll body shall have full administrative supervision of the local government unit.
AUTOMATED BSKE?
Meanwhile, Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III questioned the Comelec’s plan to automate the 2025 BSKE, saying the move will just be a waste of time and resources.
“Why are we even exerting effort to automate BSKE? Why? You’re wasting your effort.
Number one, this is not mandated by law. Number two, it’s going to be really expensive if you can pull it off,” Pimentel said during the budget hearing into the proposed P27.34 billion budget of the Comelec for next year.
Pimentel said the poll body should just concentrate on the May 2025 midterm elections and conduct the BSKE manually.
The next BSKE will be held on December 2025, as per a ruling of the Supreme Court.
Garcia said the House Committee on Electoral Reforms has approved a resolution directing the poll body to study the possible automation of the BSKE in 2025.
Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., who filed House Resolution No. 987, states that having an automated BSKE is “practical and economical” since the results of the elections will be known faster, thus winners will also be immediately proclaimed.
The automated BSKE will also prevent human intervention and errors, reduce confusion in the appreciation of ballots, and minimize the cost of manpower.
But Garcia said the poll body cannot hold an automated BSKE due to lack of funds, and that is the reason why they are asking the Senate to restore the Comelec’s budget request of P44.772 billion for 2024.
Garcia said more than P22 billion out of the P27.34 billion approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will be utilized for the preparations for the 2025 national and local elections and the BSKE, which will leave the poll body with only around P4.6 billion for salaries and capital outlay.
“So, as far as the Comelec is concerned, we were reduced by at least P17.4 billion and because of that, again, we honestly believe that if they will not be restoring the P5.7 billion more or less billion pesos we will find it hard to prepare for the national and local election of 2025,” he said.
SUSPENSION
On a three-page memorandum, the Comelec gave the green light for the suspension of 11 elected local officials as requested by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) amid the existing ban relative to the October 30 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
DILG Undersecretary Juan Victor Llamas has asked the Comelec to allow the department to implement the suspension of 11 local officials despite falling within the prohibited period.
“Upon evaluation, we find the requests to have sufficiently complied with the requirements of Section 261 (x) of the OEC as implemented by Sections 380 to 383 of Comelec Resolution No. 10924. In view of the foregoing, we recommend to grant the requests of Undersecretary Llamas, for the implementation of the penalty of suspension against the local elective officials,” said Comelec – Law Department Director Maria Norina Casingal.
“By virtue of the authority granted upon me under Comelec Resolution No. 10924 promulgated on June 7, 2023, the recommendation of the Law Department is hereby approved,” said Garcia.
Set to be suspended are San Simon, Pampanga Mayor Abundio S. Punsalan, Jr.; Clarin, Bohol Mayor Eugeniano Ermac Ibarra; Goa, Camarines Sur Mayor Racquel Sarcilla Lim; and Tabuk, Kalinga Mayor Darwin C. Estrañero.
Also up for suspension are San Simon, Pampanga Sangguniang Bayan Members Romanoel L. Santos, Mark Pineda Macapagal, Irene Bagtas David, Irene B. Dagdag, Randell P. Bondoc, Archiebald Simbulan Basilio, and Alekseyevich Y. Vergara.
Llamas, in his request, cited the separate decisions of the Office of the Ombudsman as the basis for the suspension.
Under Comelec Resolution No. 10924, it is prohibited to suspend any elective provincial, city, municipal, or b arangay officer during the election period.
The election period for the BSKE started on August 28 and will be in effective until November 29, 2023. — With Raymond Africa
