Comelec Cebu delays printing of official ballots

Castillano

Until a new schedule for the barangay election is finalized, the Cebu provincial office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has decided to postpone printing of official ballots to a later date.

Printing of ballots was supposed to start on Wednesday, said Provincial Election Officer Lionel Marco Castillano.

“The Comelec does not want to spend more than necessary. We’ve already printed the voter’s list. So if the election will not push through (in October), that would be the only wasted resource (we have incurred) yet,” he said.

More than 200 members of the House of Representatives reached a consensus during their caucus on Monday to postpone the barangay elections to May 2018 and allow a retention of existing barangay officials on a hold-over capacity.

Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said lawmakers wanted to synchronize the elections with the planned plebiscite for Charter Change (Cha-cha) and the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

If the two measures are not yet ready by May 2018, Fariñas said, the election will have to be pushed forward again to a later date.
Castillano said that a postponement of the barangay election is advantageous to Comelec because this would mean savings in their 2017 and 2018 budgets.

He said it would be less costly if the election is timed with the planned plebiscite on the Cha-cha and BBL because Comelec will only be spending for the honorarium of the same group of teachers who will be rendering service during the three events.

It would not also be wise to hold an election in the country while the armed struggle in Marawi City has not been fully resolved, Castillano added.

With Congress’ decision to push for a postponement of the election, Castillano said, they also decided to “slow down” on their election preparations.