By ATTY. GEORGE ERWIN GARCIA
Chairman, Commission on Elections
(Speech before the Rotary Club of Manila, Feb. 6, 2025)
Good afternoon to everyone. Mr. President, the officials, and members of the Rotary Club of Manila. The oldest, the first, and the largest in the Philippines.
You see, 2025 po is a super election year for the Commission on Elections, for our country. We are going to conduct three elections in the same year.
The May 12, 2025, national local elections. Supposedly simultaneously is the Bangsamoro Parliamentary election, the first in the history of our country.
And then, five months after, sa December naman po we are going to conduct the barangay and SK elections once again.
But most recently, especially yesterday (Feb. 5, 2025), Congress approved it on the third and final reading and it is now an enrolled bill, to postpone the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections. Instead of holding it on May 12, this year, we are going to hold the election by October 30 of this year.
Three elections at the same time and at the same year, that’s how problematic the Comelec is right now. Of the three elections, one,the Barangay and SK elections are actually a manual election. It’s not an automated election. That makes it very problematic.
68.34M voters
In our country right now, with 68.341 million voters, to conduct a national and local election, you’ll be needing at least P35 billion. That’s how democracy is pricey these days.
For you to conduct a barangay and SK elections, a manual election, you’ll be needing at least P13 billion. That’s how expensive an election is.
In fact, to conduct the Bangsamoro Parliamentary election separately, with the national and local elections, the Comelec will be needing P2.5 billion. Presently, we have a 68.41 million voting population. We have 11 million more or less senior citizens, 800,000 indigenous people, 550,000 persons with disabilities, and we have more or less 68,000 persons deprived of liberty.
Prisoners can vote
Take note, this is a very unique feature of our democracy. We are allowing those who are incarcerated to vote in an election. In the case of Santiago vs. Commission on Elections, the Supreme Court said, they should be allowed to vote so long as there is no final judgment of conviction.
So we allow inmates to vote. If they number less than 50, we have to bring them to polling precincts in their area. But if they are more than 50, we’re going to establish a polling place or polling places in that particular area.
Right of suffrage belongs to everyone
Try to imagine, segregating those who are in the maximum (security prisons), those who are in the medium, and those who are in the minimum prison facility, medyo mahirap ho yun. But again, again, people from Georgia have been saying, “that is very unique.” Why are you allowing your prisoners to vote? Because we said, “the right to suffrage belongs to everyone.” So long as you have no final conviction yet of the crime in which you are charged.
Sa kasalukuyan din po, your Commission on Elections has been venturing into what we call the use of technology in order to enhance democracy.
In front of you right now, is the machine that we are going to use for this year’s elections. This is an enhanced machine with the same system and hoping that after this meeting you’ll be able to test our new machine. And masasabi niyo po na masyadong handy, masyadong easy to use, and nobody should be afraid of using this machine. (See photo, right).
Comelec vow: We will count your vote
With this machine and the system that we are going to set up, we are going to answer the question—nabilang ba ang boto ko? That is our promise. That is our commitment.
Indeed, every vote will be counted in May 12, 2025 elections. There are certain innovations your Commission on Elections is putting in place for this election.
For all senior citizens, the elderly, the PWDs, and the heavily pregnant women—for this election, for the first time, you can vote from 5 in the morning to 7 in the morning. 5-7 exclusive for you. Para hindi na po kayo kasabay ng karamihan.
So even if most of you are living, for example, here in Forbes Park, or in Ayala Alabang, or in Dasmariñas Village, we are going to open the polling places from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., exclusively for you.
Para hindi po kayo nasasagi. You will not be falling in line na pagka-haba-haba and at the same time kahit paano we are fully aware that the elderly, sila yung maaagang gumising kaya po mas pinagbibigyan namin—5 to7.
Mall voting
A first: Mall voting and for your information, this is also the first time that we are going to rollout in the entire country—entire country—mall voting.
So those voters who are residing very near the malls, they are going to vote in malls.
Sa mga malls na po tutal libreng pinagkakatiwala sa amin ng mga mall owners operators without any payment. The personnel, the facilities kaya kahit 5 o’clock to 7 o’clock a.m., bukas na po pati aircon ng mga malls.
Advantages of mall voting
Pag mall voting—no terrorism, no violence, walang dumi. Walang basta-bastang mamimigay ng sample ballot at medyo malamig yun pong panahon—yun pong mismong environment. So at least, enhancing greater voting experience.
Internet voting for OFWs
Likewise, for this election, for the first time also, in our history, we are going to have internet voting with our compatriots abroad. They are going to vote via the Internet. Wala na po yung voting personally.
Try to imagine, going to the embassies for example, the embassy or the consulate of the Philippines is—you are here in Makati and the embassy for example is somewhere there in Caloocan, pupunta ka po ba naman doon?
In the election of 2022, there was a rise or an increase in the voter turnout of 40.59%. Isipin niyo po, 40.59%, the highest in the history of overseas voting.
Two modes of OFW voting previously
The Comelec spends P600 million only to afford our voters two modes of voting:
First, in-person voting. You have to go to the embassy or consulate or,
No. 2, you will have to receive a pouch and an envelope containing the ballots. Unfortunately, 90% of Filipinos who received the pouches or the envelopes did not return the envelopes. 90%, and unfortunately napakababa po ng voters turnout despite the fact that the DFA, the Comelec conducted a massive information dissemination.
So, the Comelec needs to find a way another mode so that we can encourage the Filipinos abroad to vote. We decided on voting via the internet.
Why internet voting will work
If we pay our bills using the internet or internet banking, why can we not trust the internet for our votes? And because of that (trust), for our Filipinos abroad they’ll be voting using the internet.
For 77 posts abroad, they (OFWs) will be using the internet. However, there are 16 posts abroad that will not be using the internet because these countries or the countries where they—our Filipinos are located do not want their internet services to be used by the Commission on Elections.
They include countries like China and Russia. They don’t want their internet to be used for voting. In these places, we’re going to still send the machines.
Pictures will identify voters
Sa next election din po, sa election na ito, whenever you are going to the precincts you will find not only your names but also your pictures ng mga voters, colored. Kasi mas maganda, mas madaling hanapin pagka may picture kaysa pangalan lang.
At least po sa mga kababayan natin, especially in the provinces, especially in areas na napakadaming botante, napakalaking tulong yan. It will be of great ease and help that they will be able to see not only their names but also their pictures.
Truth and transparency
We have a lot of innovations for the election but the most important thing is at least, the Comelec is always telling the truth. Alam niyo po, there are three principles under which the present leadership of the commission has been working every day:
No. 1, transparency.
Kung napansin niyo po, hindi na baleng magpa-interview ng alas-kuwatro ng umaga hanggang alas-diyes y medya ng gabi so long as we are able to convey what is really happening.
What is problematic before was that the Comelec before had not been explaining to our people what was happening.
Natatandaan niyo po yung seven-hour glitch? Kaya pinaghinalaan yung result ng ating election.
We honestly believe that if only the Commission on Elections were transparent, the people would understand so long as you are telling the truth to them about what is happening. That’s why the very foundation of the present leadership is transparency.
No. 2, accountability.
We must be responsible for our actions. We have to make a decision at all costs. Whether the decisions may be right or wrong so long as it is, for the betterment of the country’s election. So we have to make that kind of decision.
And No. 3, inclusiveness.
Nobody should be left behind. Naniniwala po tayo na kahit nasa bundok ka nakatira, you are an IP, most particularly or you are a senior citizen or you are a PWD—the attention of the Commission on Elections should be centered on all of you, bakit? Sapagkat alam natin yung vulnerable sectors of our society, kalimitan sila ang left behind.
Vulnerable sectors office
That’s why we created a vulnerable sectors office in the Commission on Elections in order for us to be able to focus on these members of the vulnerable sectors. We can promise you, that nobody or no senior citizen or PWD will be voting on the second floors or third floors of a particular building of a particular elementary school.
Wala po tayong hindi pabobotohin. We’ll create in several schools emergency polling precincts. These polling precincts will be the one to assist the senior citizens or the PWDs para makaboto, para hindi na sila magsi-second floor or magti-third floor pa.