Drilon urges Comelec to defer printing of ballots

Senate President Franklin Drilon has urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to defer the printing of ballots until the Supreme Court has ruled on all the disqualification cases pending before it.

But Drilon, a Liberal Party vice chair, was quick to clarify that his call was not meant to pass judgment on the qualifications of presidential aspirant Sen. Grace Poe, who is facing disqualification cases over citizenship and residency.

LP standard-bearer former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Poe are among the five candidates vying for the presidency in May 2016.

“Hinihiling ko kay [Comelec Chair Andres Bautista] na ipagpaliban muna ang pag-imprinta ng balota hanggang magkakaroong ng desisyon ang Korte Suprema. Sang-ayon sa balita, gusto nyang mag imprinta na sa Feb. 1,” Drilon told reporters on Wednesday.

“Kung hindi pa tapos at sa palagay ko hindi pa dedesiyunan ng Korte Supreme yung mga disqualification cases, ang mangyayari nyan ay uunahan nya ang Korte Suprema at paglabas ng decision ng Korte Suprema ay hindi natin alam kung yung bang printed ballot ay tama o hindi,” said the Senate leader, who first made the call in December last year.

READ: Don’t start printing ballots yet, Comelec urged

Drilon said printed ballots with names of disqualified candidates might no longer reflect the “true sentiments” of the voters.

“I’m not passing judgment on the qualification or disqualification of Senator Poe but I’m just saying that the more prudent thing to do is to wait for the final decision of the Supreme Court,” Drilon said.

Was he proposing the delay to wait for Poe’s disqualification from the presidential race? “Anong hinihintay? Don’t put words into my mouth naman,” he said.

In a separate statement, Drilon pointed out that pushing through with the printing of the ballots before the high court decided on the disqualification cases was equivalent to an “utter disrespect to the Supreme Court and its jurisdiction on the matter.”

“I urge Comelec Chair Bautista to accord due respect to the Supreme Court. The case is currently being heard by our esteemed justices. Why would Comelec Chair Bautista want to pre-empt them? Why bypass our justices?” the Senate leader said in a separate statement.

“The Supreme Court is well aware of the time constraint and it knows its constitutional mandate,” he said.

Drilon said all these concerns aired by Bautista about his agency running out of time to print the ballots were “unfounded fears,” saying the Comelec could always opt to hire more printers to meet its deadline.

The Senate leader also warned that the Comelec would only create more problems and delays if it would insist on printing the ballots ahead of the SC’s decision on the cases.

“I think Chairman Bautista knows better than to railroad the printing of the ballots. Besides, Chairman Bautista’s insistence to rush the printing of the ballot will only trigger speculations on his impartiality, which may affect him and the agency at this crucial time,” he said.

Drilon said the credibility of the 2016 elections would also be put in question if the printed ballots contained the names of disqualified candidates.

“What will the Comelec do if the Supreme Court upheld the Comelec en banc’s decision to disqualify Senator Grace Poe? Will the Comelec reprint the ballots? That will prove to be very costly and impractical,” he further said. RC