President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to immediately act on the several electoral reforms proposed during the preparatory consultations with various stakeholders.
“It is encouraging to know that prior to this summit, the preparatory consultations with various stakeholders in the public and private sectors were conducted nationwide,” the President said during hisspeech at the first-ever 2023 National Election Summit at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City.
“From these pre-summit meetings, it has come to the attention that several reforms in the election process must be made,” he said.
“And given these findings, let us take these matters seriously as the outputs obtained from these activities are indisputably significant.
We must act on it decisively and enforce concrete measures to turn our plans into reality,” President Marcos added.
This developed as Sen. Win Gatchalian urged the Comelec to quickly resolve election disqualification cases, including cases of nuisance candidates, in order not to compromise the integrity and safety of the electoral process.
Gatchalian filed Senate Bill No. 1061, or An Act Providing an Additional Ground for Cancelling the Certificate of Candidacy of a Nuisance Candidate and Making the Acts of Nuisance Candidate an Election Offense.
The bill would amend Sections 69, 261 (CC) and 264 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, otherwise known as the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines.
The senator said the move could also potentially diffuse politicaltensions and deter bitter political conflicts in the country, citing the case of slain Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo.
The Comelec proclaimed Degamo as the winner of the 2022 Negros Oriental gubernatorial race in October last year, after the poll body transferred to him the votes obtained by the candidate “Ruel G. Degamo,” who was declared a nuisance candidate four months after the elections.
The Supreme Court upheld the Comelec’s decision last month.
The President also urged the constitutional electoral body to “open yourselves to the recommendations of our experts and Filipino voters, who are [our] partners in ensuring free, orderly, honest, and credible elections.”
“As a democratic and republican government, we derive our power from the people, we recognize that sovereignty is exercised by its citizens through suffrage. On this note, I underscore the Comelec’s critical role as the guardians of our people’s sovereign will in ensuring the integrity of the electoral process,” President Marcos said, noting the poll body must ensure “accurate and unalterable” results to maintain the sanctity of the elections and people’s trust.
With the advent and the use of modern technologies, the President said the government can implement positive reforms and make election result transmission faster and maintain its accuracy.
The President said the Comelec should continuously discuss how to improve the election processes, including the calibration of the capacity of teachers as electoral board members and integration of voter education in the curricula of the K to 12, tertiary level and the National Service Training Program.
“So, as we engage with discussions amongst our students and the Filipino youth, we likewise promote and encourage them to form and cast an informed vote, as well as discerningly choose the leaders of our society,” Mr. Marcos said.
“It is therefore timely that we hold this summit to enhance the preparations for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections in October this year, and all our other future electoral exercises,” the President noted.
The elections were postponed last year to be scheduled in December of this year due to the recently concluded 2022 National and Local elections which resulted in a landslide victory of the Uniteam tandem of now President Marcos and Vice President Duterte-Carpio.