There is no reason to believe that the 2019 senatorial and local elections will be postponed, Commission on Elections spokesman James Jimenez assured the public on Wednesday.
Jimenez also said in an interview that there is so far no “motion or proposal” to postpone the upcoming polls.
“Bear in mind that we are less than a year away from national and local elections,” he added.
The reaction was made after a member of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Consultative Committee said that some lawmakers are inclined to suggest the postponement of the local and national polls.
Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Nachura said this is in order to make way for a plebiscite to approve the new federal constitution that the Duterte administration is pushing.
“There is no reason to believe that the 2019 polls will be postponed, and every reason to move ahead with the preparations,” Jimenez said.
Meanwhile, the National Movement for Free Elections Secretary General Eric Alvia opposed Nachura’s statement, saying that the regularity of elections is necessary for a democratic country such as the Philippines.
“We are against it,” he said of Nachura’s suggestion.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said she was still thinking about a run for the Senate.
“It certainly is always an option for anyone to aspire for public office, but with the chief justice, we don’t know yet her decision as to the future,” Sereno’s lawyer Josalee Deinla told the ANC news channel.
“She said this would require serious reflection so she’s still thinking about it,” Deinla added.
