News Briefs: Jan. 28, 2019

Comelec defers printing of ballots by one more week

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will have to postpone the printing of the official ballots for the May 2019 elections by one more week.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the printing could not start yet this week despite the release of the list of candidates over the weekend.

“It will be at least one week from today,” Jimenez said.

“Our IT department still has to load the names [of candidates] into the Election Management System (EMS). The EMS needs about a week to process the information,” he explained.

The EMS contains details such as ballot design, voter information and polling precincts. The printing  was originally scheduled for Jan. 22. —Tina G. Santos

De Lima: Prioritize bill on conditional cash transfer

Detained Sen. Leila de Lima on Sunday urged her colleagues to prioritize the proposed measure formalizing the government’s conditional cash transfer program to curb poverty in the country.

In a statement, she said Senate Bill No. 2117, which would institutionalize the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program as an antipoverty strategy, was already tackled in plenary debates.

“I therefore urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass it without delay,” De Lima said.

Under the measure, indigent children in preschool and grade school will receive P300 a month while those in junior high school will get P500 a month for 10 months. —Marlon Ramos

SC to revise rules of court on civil cases by 3rd quarter

The Supreme Court will revise the 22-year-old court rules on civil cases by the third quarter of the year.

The tribunal has put to work a committee of nine law experts led by Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta to bring the rules up to date with “technological developments” and clear the causes of delays in the litigation.

Civil cases usually involve private disputes.

The Rules of Civil Procedure were put into effect by the Supreme Court in 1997.

“We will make the judicial system responsive to the public need for quick dispensation of justice,” said Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin. —Dona Z. Pazzibugan