Senators say postponing polls unconstitutional; may create vacuum in gov’t

MANILA, Philippines — Several senators on Monday tagged as “unconstitutional” a petition urging the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to postpone the 2022 polls.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III warned that postponing the elections will create a “vacuum in the government.”

“Unconstitutional. There will be a vacuum in the [government],” Sotto, a vice presidential aspirant, said in a message to reporters.

“There is no provision in the Constitution that will allow a holdover for national officials except for 12 members of the Senate,” he added.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, who is seeking the presidency with Sotto as his running mate, had the same view.

“They should read the Constitution. Even the prayer in the petition to extend the term of [President Rodrigo Duterte] in a holdover capacity is outright unconstitutional,” Lacson said.

Meanwhile, Senator Joel Villanueva said the pandemic should not be used as an excuse to deny the Filipino people of their constitutional right to vote.

“Our people’s right to vote is enshrined in the Constitution. The pandemic cannot be used as an excuse to deny our people that right,” said Villanueva, a reelectionist senator.

“Other countries like Peru were able to have national elections during the pandemic. We should be able to do the same,” he added.

Earlier, a group called Coalition for Life and Democracy reportedly filed a petition asking the Comelec to defer the May 2022 polls to 2025 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a press conference Monday, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez noted that the group actually intended to call for the postponement of the polls only until 2023 and that 2025 was a typographical error.

Nonetheless, Jimenez said postponing the elections would be unconstitutional, adding that the petition “seems unlikely to prosper.”

The 2022 elections are set on May 9. Campaign period for national and local positions will start on February 8 and March 25, respectively.

JPV