‘TOL VIEWS

With only a little over six months before the long overdue barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, preparations are firing on all cylinders to ensure its seamless conduct on Oct. 30, 2023. The Commission on Elections (Comelec), both on the national and local levels, proceed with the election blueprint, ensuring that every date and every scheduled activity is accomplished on time.  Groundwork is continually being laid to guar-antee the safety of voters, candidates and ballots. Comelec’s calendar of activities details the timeline for the upcoming election which marks the official on-set of the election period on July 3, which is also the beginning of filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COC) for those intending to run for barangay captains, barangay kagawads and Sangguniang Kabataan chair and council members.  I have already written a letter to the Commission on Elections seeking for the adjustment of the peri-od to file COCs which is at present pegged from July 3 to July 7, 2023.  I believe that these dates are too soon.  The proposal I submitted to the Comelec was to have this filing period moved to the month of August in order to allow the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other agencies with extensive engagement during the conduct of elections to thoroughly prepare logistics, records, manpower, funds and such other vital resources needed to guarantee the success of the barangay and SK polls. This early, political heat is building up in many, if not most parts of the country.  Violent crimes driven by political motives begin to add up, the most recent one killing a barangay captain and his wife in Manguiao, As-turias in the Province of Cebu.  Politically motivated violence often spirals up even long before election periods begin.  The stakes rise as election day draws near.  As always, the PNP takes on the larger chunk of the responsi-bility to guarantee peace and order before, during and after elections. The filing of the Certificate of Candidacy is a vital and critical stage in the election process.  Hence, height-ening security becomes an imperative as soon as the period of filing of COCs begin.  Let us not forget that tragic day in November of 2009 in Maguindanao when political candidates and supporters heading to the local Come-lec to file their COCs met their gruesome end.  Ample time for the PNP and other agencies to prepare for unfore-seen eventualities within and beyond the election period takes us all closer to the peaceful and orderly elections we always endeavor. Another reason for which I seek the adjustment of the period for filing COCs is that such would prevent early campaigning, which is not only detrimental to democracy but may also lead to misuse and abuse of government resources often available for incumbents wanting to gain unfair advantage over their political rivals.  The integ-rity of the election and the democratic may be compromised as a result of social tension, conflict and violence.  I implore the Comelec to carefully weigh the proposal I have made and keep our electorate’s interest always at the forefront.