MANILA—The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is hoping that Congress will enact a law that allows senior citizens and persons with disability (PWDs) to vote ahead of the rest of the population during elections.
“We hope that Congress will heed this proposal. There should be a law allowing the Comelec to do that. We still have the time to do it. It is only 2022. In two years’ time, hopefully, we can push this. Let us work together to push for early voting for senior citizens and PWDs. We should demand that the elderly and PWDs should vote early,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said in a forum in Pasay City on Tuesday.
Garcia said the poll body can hold the early voting for senior citizens and PWDs for at least seven days.
“We can always protect the ballots. It is doable. We can do early voting at least for one week,” he said.
The poll body chief said this measure will enable members of the vulnerable sectors to cast their votes faster and hassle-free.
“Everybody can vote on the ground floor. There will be no more long lines for PWDs and senior citizens since they will not be voting along with the majority of the voters,” he said.
Currently, only teachers who serve as poll workers, media members, and uniformed personnel are allowed for early voting under the local absentee voting (LAV).
“If we allow media, the Philippine National Police, teachers, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel, why can’t we allow PWDs and senior citizens to vote early, even for just a week,” he added.
In past elections, the Comelec has established Emergency Accessible Polling Places in all voting centers nationwide on election day for the benefit of PWDs and the elderly.
These polling places specifically intended for PWDs and senior citizens are located on the ground floor of polling centers for easy access.
Meanwhile, the Comelec heeded the call to reduce spending as much as possible, decreasing its proposed budget for 2023 to P4 billion from the original P10 billion.
However, the budget does not include the proposed increase in the honoraria of poll workers.
“The Comelec knows our current problem with money. And because of that, we join the government’s efforts in saving. If saving money is needed and we can find a way, the Comelec will do it,” Garcia said in an interview after the budget hearing was suspended.
Comelec lacked some of the documents that the senators are asking for, which prompted the postponement of the hearing.
The Senate is currently on recess but continues to conduct budget hearings.
The Comelec was supposed to spend P8.5 billion for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, which has been reset from December 5 to October next year.
Garcia said the country has 91 million BSKE voters, 25 million of whom are SK voters.
By next year, the poll body estimates an additional 5 million to 7 million voters, 30,000 more precincts from the current 199,000 precincts, and 100,000 additional election workers as registration will be held anew from November to May 2023.
“The more, the better. That’s good for democracy. But for now, we can only estimate. But by May 2023, we will find out the actual numbers and how much we need to spend. Maybe, what we are asking for is smaller and therefore, can be covered by the supplemental budget,” Garcia said. PNA
Image credits: PNA