Comelec authorized by law to extend voting hours, Drilon says

Senate President Franklin Drilon INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

Senate President Franklin Drilon on Friday backed proposals to extend the voting hours in the upcoming presidential elections in May, saying the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is authorized by law to extend the polls even until the next calendar day.
Drilon, who is seeking reelection in May, said he supports the idea of extending the period of conducting the elections, saying it was “more acceptable under the law instead of a complete postponement due to challenges presented to the Comelec by the Supreme Court’s decision.”

The high court earlier ordered the Comelec to issue ballot receipts to voters, raising fears that it would delay the processing of election results in the May 9, 2016 polls.

READ: SC orders Comelec to issue vote receipts

Drilon said the law and the Constitution do not mandate that the voting period has to be finished within 24 hours.
“The Comelec has the power to decide how long the extension should be, as long as the election starts on second Monday of May as mandated by the 1987 Constitution,” he said in a statement.

“If the Comelec, due to decision of the Supreme Court, will require that the voting hours be extended, even if it extends to the next calendar day, that’s allowed under the law.”

“Simply put, we can have elections on May 9 and May 10. But what is illegal and violative of the Constitution is to not have elections on May 9,” the Senate leader said.

Drilon earlier vowed to block any attempt to postpone the 2016 May elections, saying that it would violate the Constitution if the Comelec insists on it.
READ: Drilon vows to oppose moves to postpone 2016 polls

“The Comelec cannot postpone on this ground based on existing law. There should not even be talks about postponement. I will block any attempt to postpone the election,” he said.

He explained that under the Omnibus Election Code, postponement may only be effected for “serious causes such as violence, terrorism, loss or destruction of election paraphernalia or records, force majeure, and other analogous causes of such nature that the holding of a free, orderly and honest election should become impossible in any political subdivision.” RAM