Can the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) be held simultaneously with the election of delegates for the proposed Constitutional Convention (ConCon) in October?
In a message to reporters, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia stated that operationally, it is feasible.
"The political dept of govt will have the final say on this matter," he stated.
"Ang Comelec po ay tagapagpatupad sa batas ng halalan. Basta po ipag-utos ng isang batas ay gagawin namin kaya nga lang ay kakailanganin din ng sapat na pondo para isakatuparan ito (It's Comelec's job to implement to laws. If the law dictates that we must do it, we will do it but it will require the necessary resources)," Garcia explained.
For this purpose, however, Comelec said that it will be printing a total of 67 million separate ballots for electing delegates. There are three means to reform the Constitution namely through the Constitutional Assembly, Constitutional Convention, or People’s Initiative.
On Feb. 20, the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments approved the committee report favoring the use of a Con-con in connection with resolutions seeking a Charter change (Cha-cha).
The vote favoring a con-con took place during the seventh hearing of the panel on Cha-cha. The deliberations on the topic began in mid-December.
Garcia stated that if ever the con-con will be held simultaneously with the BSKE, it is no longer possible to fully automate it since there is no more time.
The next BSKE is set to be held by the Comelec nationwide on October 30, 2023.