A poll precinct in San Marcelino town, Zambales conducts the final testing of a vote-counting machine days before the May 9 elections. (Photo courtesy of San Marcelino Public Information Office)
MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comeles) Commissioner George Garcia has assured that there will be no foreign intervention in this year’s elections, as he reminds foreign observers to follow the poll body’s rules or be “removed” from the country.
“There are ground rules and they are properly advised, at the same time nagkaroon po sila ng briefing tungkol po sa mga ground rules po natin,” Garcia said during Thursday’s Pandesal Forum.
(There are ground rules and they are properly advised, at the same time they had a briefing about our ground rules.)
“We can easily remove any one of them from our country if they will violate the ground rules that we have. Definitely, I can guarantee you, foreign intervention cannot, will not happen in the 2022 national and local elections,” he added.
According to Garcia, Comelec has accredited more or less 300 election observers from other countries.
Comelec officials met with the accredited foreign observers on Wednesday, Garcia noted.
“We met with them and we highlighted clearly the parameters of being a foreign observer. Definitely, they cannot enter into our polling precincts…Definitely they cannot interfere on how the machines are being tabulated, they cannot talk to our electoral boards, they cannot just take pictures of when the voters are voting, maybe outside, yes, but very near the voters, they cannot do that,” Garcia said.
“Likewise, if they will be going around, they will have to secure first the permission of our field personnel of the Commission on Election, we will be issuing them identification cards and as much as possible, we told them, they cannot talk to our voters, especially when they are about to vote,” he added.
Voting will open on May 9 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There are 67.4 million Filipino voters, including local and overseas absentee voters.