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🇵🇭 Philippines /Elections & Politics

Comelec: P9.12-B budget cut may ‘compromise’ 2028 elections

From Philippine Daily Inquirer · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Philippine Commission on Elections Chair George Garcia said a 9.12 billion peso reduction in its proposed 2027 budget could compromise preparations for the 2028 national elections.
  • Garcia said the cut could leave the commission without enough electoral machines, immediate ballot-printing capacity and storage space for election equipment.
  • He urged Congress to restore the funding, warning that contingency measures used in a recent special election would not be suitable for a presidential and vice presidential election.

The Philippine Commission on Elections says a 9.12 billion peso budget reduction could put the 2028 national elections at risk, warning that the commission may lack the equipment and facilities needed to run the vote.

Comelec Chair George Garcia raised the concern during a House Committee on Appropriations hearing. He said the Department of Budget and Management had removed 15.2 billion pesos from the commission’s proposed allocation for the 2027 National Expenditure Program, including 9.12 billion pesos intended for preparations for the 2028 national and local elections.

I hope the honorable House of Representatives and the Senate will listen to us later: just restore the 9.12 billion pesos, because, definitely, the conduct of our election will be affected by the reduction.

— George GarciaThe Comelec chair appealed to lawmakers to restore funding for preparations for the 2028 elections.

Garcia appealed to the House of Representatives and the Senate to restore the amount. “I hope the honorable House of Representatives and the Senate will listen to us later: just restore the 9.12 billion pesos, because, definitely, the conduct of our election will be affected by the reduction,” he told lawmakers.

We wanted to prevent that the election of 2028 be compromised simply because of the insufficient budget that will be given to us.

— George GarciaGarcia explained why Comelec was seeking restoration of the budget cut.

Asked by Akbayan Rep. Percival Cendeña what would happen if the cut remained, Garcia said Comelec would have too few electoral machines, could no longer print ballots immediately and would lack its own space to store election equipment. “We wanted to prevent that the election of 2028 be compromised simply because of the insufficient budget that will be given to us,” he said.

Garcia said the commission would try to address the shortfall, as it did during the special elections in Dasmariñas, when it used old indelible ink and other old documents. But he said such measures would not work for a nationwide presidential and vice presidential election involving 12 senators and 65 or 66 party-list representatives. “We can do it, but not in a presidential and vice presidential election,” Garcia said.

We can do it, but not in a presidential and vice presidential election.

— George GarciaHe said contingency methods used in a Dasmariñas special election would not be suitable for the 2028 national vote.
About this summary

Originally published by Philippine Daily Inquirer. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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