Poll watchdog groups on Monday joined different groups in calling on President Duterte, Congress, political parties, party-list groups, as well as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to declare their commitment to holding the elections on May 9, 2022.
Kontra Daya and the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) urged all to sign a Covenant for the 2022 Elections (C-22) which should unequivocally declare: "We commit to holding safe, free, fair, credible and transparent elections on May 9, 2022."
In a Unity Statement, the groups said the national and local elections should be held on May 9, 2022 as mandated by the Constitution.
It added that any and all attempts and excuses to postpone the elections as scheduled are "unacceptable."
"We appeal to those in power to categorically disown and dismiss speculations about a "no-elections" (no-el) scenario which were created by the push for charter change and the proposed shift from presidential to parliamentary system," read the statement.
"The right of suffrage should never be compromised. All of us should remain committed in promoting and upholding safe, free, fair, credible and transparent elections," it further read.
As the country adjusts to the effects of the global pandemic, the groups said, all should vigilantly protect and uphold their basic rights, including the right of suffrage.
"We therefore declare our commitment to preserve our democratic institutions and Constitutional rights which freedom-loving Filipinos have fought so hard to restore, even at the cost of their own lives. Let not their struggles and deaths be in vain," read the statement.
"Let us resist and denounce all efforts to dispense with the elections by insidious means such as the proposed extension of the term limits of incumbent officials and the amendment of the Constitution," it added.
They also called on the public to register as proof that "we want elections to push through."
Aside from Kontra Daya and Namfrel, other organizations which signed the statement are Automated Election System (AES) Watch, Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA), Promotion of Church Peoples Response, Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, among others.