NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo R. Duterte stated that he does not believe the Commission on Elections (Comelec) could ignore the provision allowing election monitoring groups to print ballots.

“I don’t believe it because itong Comelec naman ang mga tao diyan ay kilala ko lahat (I know everyone at Comelec),” he stated in a prerecorded interview with Pastor Apollo Quiboloy broadcast on SMNI on Saturday.

Duterte said he hasn’t heard of any such violations, but added that the Comelec should always let accredited election observation organizations see ballot printing and operations.

“I believe the ballot is printed at the Bureau of Printing.” If there is a necessity that witnesses be present, I am sure wala akong rason narinig na (I have no reason to hear that) this regulation has been disregarded. He went on to say, “I haven’t heard about it yet.”

Poll watchdogs, such as the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), had previously chastised the Comelec for denying election observation groups access to the national election preparations.

In a statement released on Thursday, the organization expressed disappointment that election observation groups, including accredited citizens’ arms, were not allowed to see ballot printing at the National Printing Office (NPO) in Quezon City or operations at the Comelec Sta. Rosa warehouse.

“During the election time, Namfrel proposes opening up the facilities for monitoring until activities are terminated,” it stated.

The group also raised worry about the lack of guidelines allowing accredited election monitors to observe operations in the numerous data centers housing the Comelec Central Server, backup server, and transparency server, as well as access to regional hubs.

Comelec, according to Namfrel, should provide guidelines allowing stakeholders, including accredited citizens’ arms, to field observers in various data centers and regional hubs during the election period until operations are completed.

In response, the Comelec stated that it is looking for extra observers to witness their polling preparations in May.

Watchers should be designated by accredited political parties and deputized citizens’ arms to oversee the printing, storage, and distribution of official ballots, according to Section 15 of Republic Act 9369.

The presence of watchers is likewise allowed by Section 187 of Batas Pambansa (BP) 881, the Philippines’ Omnibus Election Code.

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