OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Seldom do you hear barangay and SK elections being discussed at length, unless postponement is on the table.
Last week, the Supreme Court issued a resolution with regards to the cases filed questioning the postponement of the December 2022 barangay elections (G.R. No. 263590, Macalintal v. Comelec; G.R. No. 263673, Hidalgo, et al. v. Executive Secretary, et al.). In the press statement issued by the Court, it invalidated RA 11935 which postponed the BSK (Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan) elections to October, 2023. The SC ruled that Republic Act 11462 will govern the conduct of the barangay elections.
Penned by former Comelec Commissioner Kho, the Court laid down minimum requirements to be complied with, in the event the BSK is to be postponed. Noteworthy are the following salient points:
1. Free and meaningful exercise of the right to vote, as protected and guaranteed by the Constitution, requires the holding of genuine periodic elections which must be held at intervals which are not unduly long, and which ensure that the authority of government continues to be based on the free expression of the will of electors.
2. The Commission on Elections does not have the power to postpone elections on a nationwide basis. This power lies with the Congress.
3. The Court recognized the existence of RA 11935 as an operative fact which had consequences and effects that cannot be reversed nor ignored.
4. The postponement of the election must be justified by reasons sufficiently important, substantial, or compelling under the circumstances:
a. 1. The postponement must be intended to guarantee the conduct of free, honest, orderly, and safe elections; 2. The postponement must be intended to safeguard the electorate’s right of suffrage; 3. The postponement must be intended to safeguard other fundamental rights of the electorate; or 4. Such other important, substantial, or compelling reasons that necessitate the postponement of the election, i.e., necessitated by public emergency, but only if and to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation.
b. “Reasons such as election fatigue, purported resulting divisiveness, shortness of existing term, and/or other superficial or farcical reasons, alone, may not serve as important, substantial, or compelling reasons to justify the postponement of the elections. To be sufficiently important, the reason for the postponement must primarily be justified by the need to safeguard the right of suffrage or other fundamental rights or required by a public emergency situation.”
For those who might have concerns about conducting two elections within a year shouldn’t worry because Comelec already did this in 2010. After holding the first national automated elections in May, Comelec conducted the Barangay and SK elections on October of the same year.
In an interview, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said that Comelec is now 95 percent complete in their preparations for the upcoming elections. He likewise said that they are already preparing for the conduct of two elections in 2025. This is actually welcome news, a very good initiative to start preparing early, considering all the work that needs to be done in 2025.
I’ve received several queries from readers who need a little reminding on the key dates and timeline. Here it goes.
• Filing of certificate of candidacy – Aug. 28-Sept. 2.
• Election period/gun ban – Aug. 28-Nov. 14.
• Prohibited period for campaigning – Aug. 28-Oct. 18.
• Campaign period – Oct. 19-28.
• Liquor Ban – Oct. 29-30.
• Election day – Oct. 30.
Win or lose, this you’ve got to do.
• Last day to file SOCE – Nov. 29, 2023
Don’t let the legalese weight you down. At the end of the day, the Supreme Court just clarified and put a definitive period to what we have come to expect over the years, the postponement of barangay elections for a variety of well-meaning (and sometimes politically expedient) reasons.
October is just a three months away and political re-alignments and re-fortification efforts are well underway, especially in key cities. A precursor to battle royale in 2025, if I may say so.
The proverbial calm before a much anticipated electoral storm.
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Off the Beat: Sharing a playlist of two tracker songs.
A “two tracker” is a song that is a mash-up of two songs, which is then mixed to make the playlist: 1. Pitbull vs. Sergio Mendes - Fireball vs Mas Que Nada; 2. Dawn Penn vs. Colonel Abrams - No NoNo vs Trapped; 3. Westlife vs. Galantis - Hello My Love vs Tell Me You Love Me; 4. EBTG vs. Human League - Missing vs Don’t You Want Me; 5. Galantis vs. Becky Hill & Leona Lewis - Run vs Bleeding Love; 6. Calvin Harris vs. Rag N Bone - Giants vs Warriors; 7. David Guetta vs. Whitney Houston - If You Really Love Me vs How Will I Know
Visit the link to listen:https://www.mixcloud.com/goyolarrazabal/goyos-mix-230627-two-tracker-tuesdays/