UNCERTAINTY over the holding of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections should be resolved before the filing of certificates of candidacy in September, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the poll body is ready to proceed with the elections under the existing law, but Congress should ‘ideally’ decide on any postponement before the filing period begins.
‘Hopefully, by the end of September, we will already know whether the elections will be postponed or not because this is a question the public is already asking,’ Garcia said.
He said allowing the uncertainty to stretch into the filing period could leave prospective candidates unsure whether the elections would push through.
‘It would be difficult to reach that date without knowing whether the barangay and SK elections will push through,’ Garcia said.
However, Comelec is not taking a position on proposals to either postpone or proceed with the polls, he added.
Garcia said preparations would continue unless Congress changes the law, noting that materials already procured could still be used if the elections are eventually reset.
About P8 billion of the P19-billion budget for the elections has already been spent, he said.
Meanwhile, some expenses could be lost if the polls were pushed back, including printed voters’ lists and election supplies that may expire or become unusable as voter records change.
Garcia cited ballpens and indelible ink among the materials that could no longer be used depending on how long the elections are postponed.
Apart from possible wastage, Comelec may need another P2.5 billion to P3.5 billion if higher personnel and transportation costs persist amid the current crisis.
Garcia said every P1,000 increase in the honorarium of around one million teachers who will serve during the elections would require an additional P1 billion, while higher oil prices could further raise the cost of deploying election materials nationwide.
Comelec is still determining the exact additional funding requirement, with Garcia stressing that the P2.5-billion to P3.5-billion estimate remains subject to further assessment.