DILG says 31,125 PDLs to vote in 2023 BSKE

FILE PHOTO: Sample ballots for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) are printed at the National Printing Office, Diliman, Quezon City, September 29, 2022. Philippine Daily Inquirer / Lyn Rillon

MANILA, Philippines — Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos said 31,125 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) will be voting on Monday, the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

Of the total, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) chief noted, 29,133 will vote in special polling precincts located within Bureau of Jail Management and Penology jails while 1,992 will vote in their respective registered precincts located in various barangays.

Citing rules of the Commission on Elections, Abalos explained that PDLs who are qualified to exercise their right to vote include those who are formally charged, inmates with pending trial, and those who are imprisoned for sentences of less than a year.

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He further explained that PDLs’ right to vote aligns with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Rights, and the 1987 Constitution.

Abalos said exercising the right to vote is “a testament to the democratic liberty of a nation.”

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“The right to vote is everyone’s inherent right under the Constitution. As the DILG actively assists the Commission on Elections in ensuring peace and order during the 2023 BSKE, we are elated to confirm that more than 31,000 PDLs will be able to exercise their rights to vote on BSKE 2023,” he said in a statement.

The country is set to hold the 2023 BSKE on October 30.

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