FILE PHOTO: Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair George Erwin Garcia (right) dismisses as “too premature” veteran lawyer Romulo Macalintal’s (left) questions on the constitutionality of simultaneously holding the Charter change (Cha-cha) plebiscite and the 2025 nationwide polls. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair George Erwin Garcia has dismissed as “too premature” veteran lawyer Romulo Macalintal’s questions on the constitutionality of simultaneously holding the Charter change (Cha-cha) plebiscite and the 2025 nationwide polls.
The Initiative and Referendum Act of 1989 defines a plebiscite as a means by which Filipinos can vote to approve or reject initiatives to change the 1987 Constitution.
According to Garcia, the two chambers of Congress – Senate and House of Representatives – had yet to decide whether to hold the two elections simultaneously.
READ: Election with plebiscite is ‘doubtful constitutionality,’ says Macalintal
“At this point, in our belief, such kind of speculation is too premature because it is still being debated in our Congress and Senate whether it is really possible to hold a plebiscite for amending the Constitution alongside the 2025 elections,” he explained in Filipino during an interview that followed a voters’ registration seminar at the National University.
In his statement on March 4, Macalintal cited a jurisprudence stating that a plebiscite shall be held “independently of the election of public officials.”
The election lawyer’s remark contradicts the statement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and several lawmakers who say that holding the two elections together will save the government billions of pesos.
However, Garcia reiterated during Tuesday’s interview that if Comelec held a separate election for the Cha-cha plebiscite, it would need P13 billion.
He also stressed that if the two polls were carried out simultaneously, Comelec would be equipped to handle the additional workload.
“The Comelec can indeed synchronize the 2025 elections and the plebiscite for amending the Constitution,” Garcia said.
“In the end, it doesn’t require additional funds or money from the Comelec, nor changes in the number of teachers, ballot boxes, or machines that we will use,” he also said, adding that Comelec would only request additional compensation for the teachers who will be counting the votes.
Garcia likewise repeated that the decision to hold the Cha-cha plebiscite alongside the 2025 national and local elections is a legal and political issue that Comelec will not interfere with.
Suspending voters registration
Meanwhile, certain members of the House of Representatives proposed that the Cha-cha referendum be held earlier than the scheduled election in 2025.
“Now, maybe we have [a] legal basis to ask that instead of holding the two together, let us just conduct the plebiscite in amending the Constitution earlier,” Deputy Speaker David Suarez said Monday.
READ: Solons: Macalintal’s view on separate plebiscite, polls affirms House’s stand
However, if this would be the case, Garcia explained that Comelec would be compelled to suspend its ongoing nationwide voter registration.
“The truth is, whenever there’s an upcoming election, you have to suspend the ongoing voter registration. So if there’s a plebiscite before the 2025 election, the Comelec has no choice but to suspend the ongoing registration,” he pointed out.
As of March 4, Comelec reported 910,908 new voters registered for the 2025 elections. This total excludes fresh registrants overseas.
Garcia also believes that holding the Cha-cha plebiscite before 2025 would be impractical, given the time constraints the poll body is already facing while preparing for next year’s national and local elections.
Nevertheless, he noted that if the Cha-cha vote were to take place before next year, Comelec could only accommodate it before October because that month would be the start for aspirants in the 2025 elections to file their certificates of candidacy.