- COMELEC warned that they cannot assure credible polls due to the latest SC ruling
- The SC required COMELEC to issue printed ballot receipts during the May 2016 elections
- The poll body said the ruling pushed election back preps by three months
In response to the latest ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) requiring the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to issue printed ballot receipts in the national polls on May 2016, Chairman Andres Bautista said the agency cannot guarantee credible elections, but stopped short of calling the situation a crisis.
Earlier, the poll body insists that the new ruling pushed back election preparations by three months, thus rendering them “insufficient time to complete preparations.”
“Kung makikita ninyo sa aming resolution, meron kaming mga pangamba, meron kaming mga agam-agam, at hindi namin masisigurado na kami ay makaka-deliver ng credible elections kung talagang kakailanganing mag-imprenta ng resibo. Hindi namin alam kung magagawa namin ‘yung credible elections by May 9. [If you can see in our resolution, we have our doubts and concerns and we cannot assure that we can deliver credible elections if we really have to print receipts. We do not know if we can do the credible elections by May 9],” Bautista told GMA News.
In addition, COMELEC warned that preparations for the month-long overseas absentee voting, slated to begin on April 9, will also be affected. Bautista also added that the ruling “might likewise constrain the Commission to recommend the postponement [of the elections] to an appropriate date before June 30.”
However, the poll body clarified that they will still push for holding the elections on the date mandated by law, but added that they must also be allowed to explain their side if they are not able to do so on time due to the requirements of the new ruling.
“Ayaw naming i-postpone ang eleksyon. [We don’t want to postpone the election.] I want that to be very clear… Pero hindi rin naman puwede na kami ay magpatakbo ng kahit anong halalan. Kailangan maayos at credible. At kung ‘yun ay hindi namin magagawa, sa aking palagay utang rin namin sa taumbayan na sabihin ito at ipaliwanag kung ano ang mga nakikita nating balakid. [But we also do not want to run just any election. It has to be clean and credible. And if we are not able to do so, in my opinion, it is our debt to the people to say it and to explain the obstacles we foresee],” Bautista added.
The COMELEC is currently assessing its timeline as it is set to “rebuild” the code already in place for the automated polls. However, the agency also adds that it is not considering the return to manual elections at this point.
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