Comelec OKs suspending proclamation of BSK bets with pending DQ cases

OPERATION BAKLAS. Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Erwin Garcia leads a takedown of illegal campaign materials at the Maricaban area in Pasay City on Tuesday (Oct. 24, 2023). He said the poll body has begun issuing show cause orders for illegal campaigning after it launched its Operation Baklas on Friday. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)

MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday approved the suspension of the proclamation of candidates with pending disqualification charges who will win in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on Oct. 30.

“Please be informed that during the Referendum Consultation today, the Commission resolved to APPROVE the Suspension of Proclamation of named respondents with pending petitions to deny due course or to cancel Certificate of Candidacy (COC); to declare a nuisance candidate; and for disqualification until further orders from the Commission,” Comelec Memorandum 231111 read.

In an excerpt attached to the memorandum, the Comelec en banc reiterated its authority to suspend the proclamation under Section 600 of Comelec Resolution 10924.

Section 600 states the Comelec division or en banc’s authority to suspend the proclamation of a winning candidate if an unresolved petition has strong evidence.

In an ambush interview, Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia explained that this may be done considering that the official assumption of BSK posts will be on Dec. 1.

“We have practically the entire month to resolve the suspension orders, as well as iyong mismong (the very) resolution,” Garcia added.

He made the statement during the conduct of Oplan Baklas or the removal of wrong-sized election posters or tarpaulins or illegally placed election materials at the Maricaban area in Pasay City.

In case a winning barangay or SK chairperson is the one subject to disqualification case, the winning barangay kagawad or SK member with the highest number of votes will perform the function as an acting official.

BSK precinct-finder

Garcia, meanwhile, said the poll body has yet to receive clearance from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to launch its precinct finder for the Oct. 30 BSK polls.

“For the last three weeks na, naghihintay ang Comelec ng go signal mula sa DICT (For the past three weeks, the Comelec is waiting for the go signal of the DICT),” he said.

He said the Comelec should not be releasing system-related matters without a green light from the DICT to ensure protection against data breaches.

A data breach took place in 2016, which held some officials liable, and about 36,000 unsuccessful attempts to hack the Comelec’s precinct finder have been made in 2022, he added.

“92 million po na botante iyan na may kanya-kanyang data at nakalagay din iyong kani-kanilang address (That’s 92 million voters with their data and address in it),” he said.

Moreover, Garcia disclosed that the poll body has already coordinated with experts after the recent cyberattacks against several government agencies.

He, meanwhile, lauded efforts from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and some online payment platforms like GCash for their support to the Comelec against vote buying.

“Ipinagbabawal nila iyong pagpapadala nang sumobra na sa limit (They prohibit the sending that has exceeded the limit),” Garcia said.

Earlier, the BSP ordered stricter monitoring and fraud management systems to combat unusual transactions including large cash volumes, and suspicious one-to-many or many-to-one transactions.