Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia on Friday told the Supreme Court that the poll body could no longer hold the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) in December 2022.
During the SC's oral arguments on the petition challenging Republic Act 11935, Garcia said the Comelec has suspended the printing of the ballots for the supposed December 2022 BSKE upon President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s signing of the law resetting the local polls to October 2023.
The Comelec chairman also informed the magistrates that they cannot proceed with the procurement of other election paraphernalia as there is already a law that postponed the December 2022 polls. Hence, there might be no legal basis for their purchases. "We do not want to violate any auditing rules and we do not want that COA will be giving notices to the commission as far as these awards are concerned," Garcia said.
"We have been preparing for the procurement of indelible ink... However, indelible ink will be expiring [in] one year and so if we will proceed with the procurement of indelible ink even after the signing by the President on October 10 and there is already a law which says the election is postponed, then definitely by next year, all of these indelible ink [will be] dried up. Surely, we will not proceed with the procurement of the indelible ink," he said.
"Maybe not on December 5, your honors, but on a date close, very close to the date of the elections that is postponed because that is provided for under Section 5 of the Omnibus Election Code, that while the Comelec may postpone, it has still to continue with the election on a date reasonably close to the date of the postponed election after the cessation of the cause for the postponement," he said.
"December 5, 2022 elections could push through because it was not the fault of the Comelec that these delays were caused. It was the enactment of this law that prevented the Comelec from pushing through with this preparation or suddenly stop their preparation. In other words, the cause of the delays is because of the passage of the law," he said.
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