COMELEC seeks higher budget for 2021

The talks on the 2022 Presidential Elections were not exempted during the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) budget briefing in the House of Representatives on Thursday. The COMELEC has sought for a higher budget for the funding of equipment, including vote counting machines after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) cut its budget to Php 14.5 billion from Php 30.6 billion.

“Ang problema kasi ay hindi lamang ‘yung edad ng makina, kung hindi ‘yung dami rin ng taong gagamit. Ine-expect natin na darami ang ating mga botante dahil year-on-year talaga namang tumataas ‘yung ating list of voters (The volume of people will also be a challenge aside from the age of the machines. We are expecting an increase of voters since it is rising year-on-year),” COMELEC Spokesperson Dir. James Jimenez explained.

The COMELEC also clarified that it has not yet considered canceling the elections after some legislators raised the matter given the COVID-19 pandemic threat. – Report from Daniel Manalastas