As far as the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) is concerned, there will be no delays related to the anticipated Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) set for October 30, 2023 and the related final list of voters will be released this August, according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA).
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the PNA news article. Some parts in boldface…
There will be no delays in the release of the final list of voters in August and the holding of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) by October, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday assured.
During the Laging Handa public briefing, Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the poll body targets to provide a clean list of registered voters by the first week of August.
“Tuloy na tuloy na po iyan… ginagarantiya natin na maayos at malinis na po iyan. Kahit po iyong mga sinasabing namatay na, iyan po ay pinapatanggal din natin sa ating election registration board (It [will certainly] be pushed through… We are guaranteeing an organized and clean [list]. Even those who have already died, we are also asking the election registration board to remove them),” he said.
Any political party or citizen’s arm may secure access to the clean list from local Comelec offices once finalized.
Based on Comelec’s automated fingerprint and identification system, around 21,000 double and multiple registrants were found.
The poll body also assured the BSKE on Oct. 30 will also push through following the recent ruling of the Supreme Court on the unconstitutionality of the postponement of the December 2022 BSKE.
“Bagama’t unconstitutional nga po ang sabi ng ating Korte Suprema doon sa batas na ipagpaliban ang halalan, wala po itong epekto sa atin pong ginagawang paghahanda para sa October 30. Tuloy na tuloy po ang ating October 30 Barangay and SK Elections (Although it’s unconstitutional to postpone the elections as per the law cited by the Supreme Court, it has no effect on our preparation for October 30. The October 30 BSKE will push through),” Garcia added.
However, around 1.3 million ballots are still left for printing, particularly for those registered from Dec. 12, 2022 up to Jan. 31 this year.
Garcia said the printing of ballots for the said batch will be launched in July once the clearing of double and multiple registrants is finalized. To date, the Comelec has already printed 91 million ballots needed for the upcoming BSKE.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you intend to vote in the BSKE this October 30? Do you think the COMELEC has done enough to ensure election integrity?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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