Lawmakers warn Comelec against switching to ‘hybrid’ elections

Lawmakers vowed to block the Commission on Elections’ plan to switch to a “hybrid” or virtually manual system of elections next year either through impeachment or a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court.

Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro, chair of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms, warned Comelec commissioners that reverting to manual elections would be grounds for impeachment.

Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. said the Supreme Court was likely to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Comelec because a hybrid system as proposed under the Precinct Automated Tallying System (Patas) being peddled by former Comelec Commissioner Gus Lagman would be against the Automated Election System Law.–Gil Cabacungan