Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)
MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is hoping that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will urge Filipinos to exercise their right to suffrage in next year's midterm elections during his State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“Ang Pangulo ay simbolo ng pagkakaisa ng isang bansa, at the same time dito sa ating bansa siya ang simbolo ng ating pagnanais para sa landas ng ating kabuhayan at (pag-unlad) dito sa ating bansa. Kung kaya naman sana ang aking iniexpect at sana ang aking hope ay masasabi ng ating Pangulo na ang 2025 election ay importante sa mga ambisyon, sa mga inspirasyon, sa mga kagustuhan natin gawin sa ating bansa (The President is the symbol of a nation's unity and at the same time, here in our country, he is the symbol of our resolve to take the path of progress here in the country. This is why it is my expectation and my hope that the President will say the 2025 elections is important to our ambitions and our inspiration, as well as our desire for our country),” Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said in an interview on the sidelines of the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel on Friday.
Garcia said he is hoping just for a single statement from the Chief Executive on the matter, as well as a call for the people to make their voices heard through casting their ballots.
Garcia said they are on track as far as their preparations for next year’s twin polls -- the midterm elections and the first Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary polls-- are concerned.
Under the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), 80 parliamentary seats are at stake in the polls while 18,271 national and local positions are up for grabs in the midterm polls involving 14 various positions.
These are senatorial, party-list representatives, congressional district representatives, governors, vice governors, provincial board members, city/municipal mayors, vice mayors, and councilors.
Meanwhile, Garcia said they will be looking at the Election Day Computerized Voters List (EDCVL) in the last two elections in Bamban, Tarlac, in connection to its probe on a possible poll offense case against suspended Mayor Alice Guo.
He said these documents would determine if there is a material misrepresentation committed.
An EDCVL is a list where voters sign and affix their thumbmarks during election day. It also contains the serial number of used ballots to prove that a person has voted.
"Dapat ang pagsisinungaling ay material sa kanyang tiknatakbuhan. Ano ba mga yun? Edad, citizenship, residency, registration, at literacy. Kapag nagsabing Filipino siya ‘yun pala hindi, misrepresentation yun. Nasa tamang edad, yun pala hindi, misrepresentation. Yan ay pagsisinungaling sa qualification sa opisina (Lying should be material to the post one is running for. What are these? Age,citizenship, residency, registration, at literacy. If one says he/she is a Filipino when he/she is not, that's misrepresentation. If one claims to be of legal age when he/she is not, that is misrepresentation. It is lying about your qualifications for the office),” he said.
Garcia said they expect the recommendation of the team to be out before the filing of certficates of candidacy in October. (PNA)
