Don’t start printing ballots yet, Comelec urged

Because the Supreme Court may only deliberate on the disqualification cases against Sen. Grace Poe at the end of January next year, Senate President Franklin Drilon on Thursday expressed hope that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) would postpone the printing of the ballots scheduled in February.

“We hope the Comelec can postpone the start of the printing and await the Supreme Court decision and the Supreme Court must decide it as soon as practicable,” Drilon said at the Senate Kapihan forum.

Drilon told reporters that the scheduled Jan.14 oral arguments in the high court on the decision of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) to junk the disqualification petition against Poe was “very tight.”

Assuming that pending disqualification cases against Poe that have yet to be decided by the Comelec en banc go up to the high court and heard at the same time during the Jan.14 oral arguments, this will mean the high court could only start to deliberate on them at the end of January, Drilon said, pointing out that parties are usually required to submit a memorandum and given 10 days to do so.

The Comelec is supposed to start printing the ballots in the first week of February, he said, adding this will make the schedule “very tight.”

Drilon said he was “concerned” and he hoped “we can pull it off on time because the implication of not doing it on time will be difficult to imagine.”

If there’s no decision by printing time, Drilon has said, “the Comelec just has to postpone the printing of the ballot then print double time [to have the ballots ready for the May 9 elections.]”

He said the Comelec was “really in a bind” and even” in limbo” as the situation was now beyond its control.

Drilon said the poll body should determine how far it could push back the printing of ballots.

“They just have to decide and pray that everything is decided in a timely manner,” he said, adding he did not want to be in the shoes of the Comelec right now.