Malacañang rejected the idea of postponing the upcoming national elections in May 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the country still has enough time to prepare so people can safely exercise their right to vote.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after Pampanga Second District Representative Juan Miguel Arroyo drew flak for asking the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to consider postponing the 2022 polls as people are "scared" to vote due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, Roque said that postponing the elections is problematic and that the pandemic is not an excuse to reschedule the polls.
"The holding of elections is a public service that the government must ensure to deliver. The idea to postpone the 2022 elections, if and when it happens, presents constitutional challenges," he said.
"We must not use the existing global health crisis as a ground to cancel and reschedule the elections as this would not sit well with the public," he added.
According to Roque, the government still has enough time to prepare for the safe conduct of the 2022 elections.
"The 1987 Constitution is clear on the fixed date for the national elections, which is the second Monday of May. The National Election is still two years away and we still have sufficient time to prepare," he said.
"We can learn from the examples of other countries, such as the United States, which will be holding an election later this year, on how they conduct polls during COVID-19 pandemic," he added.
Arroyo's suggestion did not sit well with the netizens--some even accused the lawmaker of floating the idea in order to extend the term of office of public officials.
In an expletive-ridden tweet, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. found the idea of postponing the polls as repulsive.
"You don't cancel elections for any reason. That's treason. We are a democracy or a sh*t slave colony. Hold elections, period," he wrote in his tweet.
"Those brave to stand in line and vote—even if only 12—decide the next President. Elections=democracy or F*ck U. You f*cking sh*t," he added.
In a radio interview, Arroyo explained that he did not want the national elections to be postponed right away, saying that it was only a "last resort" in case the country is still battling the pandemic in 2022.