THE Commission on Elections’s (Comelec) bid to tap shopping malls as voting precincts in the 2016 polls received a major boost after SM Supermalls offered its 52 branches for the synchronized elections.
In a statement, Comelec Chairman Andres D. Bautista disclosed that the poll body got the nod of SM to provide the public a convenient and hassle-free way of voting.
Bautista made the announcement after a meeting with SM Supermalls President Annie S. Garcia on Thursday.
“The Comelec remains committed to improve the voting experience of the public. This is why we are delighted to learn that SM is willing to offer its malls as voting centers in the forthcoming elections,” Bautista said.
Bautista said the Comelec and SM Supermalls share the aspirations of the Filipino people for credible, orderly and peaceful elections.
“In furtherance of such efforts, SM is willing to offer its malls as voting centers in the forthcoming elections. Responsible voting leads to credible elections,” Bautista said. “This is also part of the Comelec’s desire to improve the voting experience of the public.”
Garcia said, “SM Supermalls has always been supportive of the Comelec’s efforts at ensuring credible, peaceful and orderly elections.”
“In line with this and as part of our commitment to give all the convenience to the public, especially to the mallgoers, we would like to tell the Comelec that our 52 malls will be made available as voting centers in the 2016 national elections.
She added that SM Supermalls’ accessibility, senior citizens and people with disability (PWD)- friendly facilities make the air-conditioned malls ideal for the polls.
“We have done this before, being the first mall to have been made into a voting center in the last elections and this is another opportunity for us to give our customers all the convenience, especially at a most crucial period in our country,” Garcia said.
SM Supermalls is currently hosting Comelec’s biometrics registrations in all its 52 malls all over the country.
Over the weekend, Robinsons Malls expressed its support to the plan of the Comelec to conduct mall-based voting next year. This was after Bautista revealed that their “preliminary study” on the proposal indicate that mall-based voting can be done under existing laws.
In a related development, the Comelec is set to establish special mall-based satellite voter registration for PWDs and senior citizens on Friday in select SM malls nationwide.
The Comelec said this is in line with the country’s celebration of the 37th National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week.
“There will be special satellite voter registration for the general public, with priority given to PWDs and senior citizens,” Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said in a separate statement.
