Abonita, Crizina Jae S.

COE

05 / 02 / 16

Comelec scraps mall voting, Chairman Bautista sorry

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc has
scrapped its proposal to transfer voting places to malls in the coming May 9 elections.
In a radio interview on Wednesday (April 27), Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista himself
announced that the en banc on Tuesday (April 26) reversed the poll bodys March 10 ruling that
allowed the proposed mall voting.
Kamiy nagkabotohan. At from 6-1 naging 4-3, Bautista said, explaining the breakdown of the
commissioners votes. Sinasabi ngayon not to proceed with mall voting.
[Translation: We voted. And from 6-1, it became 4-3. It was decided not to proceed with mall
voting.]
Those in favor of mall voting are: Chairman Bautista and commissioners Sheriff Abas and Al
Parreo. While Commissioners Rowena Guanzon, Luie Tito Guia, Christian Robert Lim, and
Arthur Lim opposed mall voting.
Legality of mall voting questioned
Former Comelec commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, in a letter to the Comelec en banc dated
April 20, questioned the legality of the poll bodys ruling allowing mall voting.
Larrazabal said the memorandum violated some provisions of the Omnibus Election Code.
Larrazabal cited Section 153, which states that no location shall be changed within forty-five
[45] days before a regular election.
Thus, according to Larrazabal, the transfer of polling places barely 19 days before Election day,
12 days left before the start of the final testing & sealing and long after the Project of Precincts
have been finalized, is in violation of the foregoing prohibition.
The elections lawyer also pointed out that sections 153 and 154 of the Omnibus Election Code
require Comelec to make notice and conduct public hearing before approving the transfer or any
change in polling place.
Larrazabal also said, the actual registered voters who would be affected by the transfer must be
properly notified.
In a statement, Larrazabal said he welcomes the poll body's decision.
"It's good that the Commission En banc resolved the issue of Mall Voting. Procedurally, mall
Voting did not comply with the requirements of the law," Larrazabal said.

"There was no approval, rather, the En Banc only noted the list. It's good the Commission
clarified this issue. I hope this now will allow us to discuss the more pressing concerns of the
fast-approaching elections," he added.
Bautista sorry
In a TV interview, Bautista admitted he looked forward to mall voting, like many voters who
supported the move.
Many were already excited about voting in malls, Bautista said. But now we have to undo it.
If this is the decision, we have to live with it.
The elections chief also apologized to voters who could have benefited in the comfort of mall
voting. He said the poll body will try to push for mall voting in the next elections.
I really want to apologize to the voters who supported this innovation, especially our senior
citizens and PWDs (persons with disabilities). The mall voting would have been easier for them,
to exercise their right to suffrage, said Bautista.
In the meantime, the chairman said: We have to move on.
Reference:
http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/04/27/comelec-scraps-junks-mall-voting-chairmanbautista-apologized-sorry.html

Sajorda, Norberto G. Jr.

COE

05/02/16

Comelec aborts mall voting plan

MANILA, Philippines Faced with mounting criticism, the Commission on Elections (Comelec)
has shelved its plan to conduct voting in shopping malls.
Voting 4-3, the Comelec on Tuesday night decided against mall voting for the May 9 elections,
overturning its March 10 resolution.
Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said three commissioners Christian Lim, Luie Guia and
Arthur Lim who previously voted for mall voting considered the dissenting opinion of
Commissioner Rowena Guanzon.
Only Commissioners Al Parreo and Sheriff Abas voted with Bautista favoring mall voting.
Last March 10, the Comelec approved mall voting but three commissioners eventually decided
against it, citing Omnibus Election Code (OEC) provisions on transfer of polling precincts.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, transfer of polling precincts is allowed within 45 days before
a regular election.
Bautista said the three commissioners changed their mind after the Comelec started sending out
Voter Information Sheets to some of the 231,174 regular voters who would have been
beneficiaries of the mall voting project.
The Comelec has also signed separate memoranda of agreement with Robinsons Malls and Ayala
Malls, with eight other malls lined up.
We apologize to our voters who were already informed of their transfer to malls. We are now in
the process of informing them of their new voting areas. Basically, we will just return them to
their old polling precincts, Bautista explained.
We also apologize to our mall partners because we know they have already spent for this project
because they are also excited with this partnership as part of their corporate social
responsibility, he added.
Bautista admitted he was saddened with the junking of the mall voting project, saying he felt like
all the efforts were put to waste.
On the other hand, Sens. Aquilino Pimentel III, Vicente Sotto III and Francis Escudero welcomed
the Comelecs decision to shelve mall voting.

Its good they cancelled it because that has doubtful legal basis. It will cause unnecessary
headache for Comelec and the voters to be transferred to malls. Good, everything avoided, said
Pimentel, chairman of the Senate committee on electoral reforms.
For his part, Escudero said he agrees with the poll bodys decision because the proposal should
be reviewed further.
Replacement ballots to proceed
But the Comelec will still allow replacement ballots despite strong opposition against it.
In a resolution, the Comelec ordered that replacement ballot shall be issued to a voter whose
ballot is rejected by the vote counting machine (VCM), but only if the rejection of the ballot is
not due to the fault of the voter.
But Comelecs accredited citizens arm the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and
other sectors are strongly opposing replacement ballots, warning it could lead to confusion on
election day.
Guanzon said the Comelec decided to go through with the plan to give one replacement ballot to
voters whose ballots have been rejected.
Only one replacement ballot. After that, if it still does not work, then the voter just has to make
sure that incident is recorded in the minutes of voting of the Board of Election Inspectors
(BEIs), she added.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the poll body is also implementing a limit to the
replacement ballot policy to avoid ballot shortage.
If the ballot supply reaches a certain point, they will no longer issue replacement ballots. This
will avoid the possibility of having ballot shortage. All members of the BEIs shall decide
whether a voter should be entitled or not to a replacement ballot, Jimenez explained.
Frivolous complaints are election offense
The Comelec also affirmed its decision to make voters frivolous complaints an election offense
to prevent voters from casting doubt on the credibility of the elections.
Frivolous objections will mean, under the OEC, are making false statements, causing
confusion, Guanzon said.
Under the OEC, it is prohibited for any person who, for the purpose of disrupting or obstructing
the election process or causing confusion among the voters, propagates false and alarming
reports or information regarding any matter relating to the general conduct of the election.

But Guanzon said those who would formally file their objections before the BEIs as to the
contents of their voting receipts cannot be considered as frivolous complaints.
If they say that their receipt did not print the candidates they voted for, that is not a frivolous
objection if, according to our general instructions, the voters sign at the back of their receipt and
it will be (attached) and written by the BEI in the Minutes of Voting, she explained.
Cops, soldiers prohibited in polling places
The Comelec has also prohibited police and military officers from going inside polling centers
on election day.
In a resolution, the Comelec said no personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) or Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is allowed to enter polling and canvassing places unless there are
disturbances in peace and order.
All security personnel shall stay beyond the 50-meter radius from the polling and canvassing
places they are assigned to secure.
In no case shall the PNP and AFP officer hold any conversation with any voter, disturb, prevent
or in any manner obstruct the free access of voters in polling place, the poll body said.
If deemed necessary, the BEIs and the Board of Canvassers (BOCs) upon majority vote may
call for the detailing of police and military personnel for the protection of election document and
paraphernalia, the poll body added.
The Comelec also said the Joint Security Control Center (JSCC) may establish a security
assistance desk to oversee security in the area.
During the retrieval of Automated Election System (AES) and the delivery of election returns
and other documents and paraphernalia, the JSCC shall provide appropriate security escorts to
BEIs and BOCs.
Immediately after the voting and canvassing, the AES and paraphernalia shall be under the
custody and responsibility of the BEIs and the BOCs.
The BEIs and BOCs shall ensure that all AES machines and paraphernalia are all accounted
for. Any case of missing or damaged AES shall be investigated to determine liability of the
BEIs and BOCs, the Comelec added. - With Christina Mendez
Reference:
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/04/28/1577632/comelec-aborts-mall-voting-plan

Morris, Marlean P.

COE

05/02/16

Comelec: Mall voting wont push through

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has junked the proposal to transfer some precincts into
malls for the May 9 national and local elections, reversing its earlier March 10 ruling. In an
interview which aired on radio dzBB on Wednesday, Comelec chairman Andres Bautista said
that in a 4-3 vote, the en banc decided to not push through with the proposed mall voting.
Kahapon, kamiy nagkabotohan at from 6-1 naging 4-3. Sinasabi ngayon not to proceed with
mall voting, Bautista was quoted as saying. (Yesterday, we voted, and from 6-1, it became 4-3.
That tells us now not to proceed with mall voting.)
In a separate interview, Bautista explained how the commissioners decided on junking the mall
voting. The interpretation is whether or not the approval and the transfer should have happened
45 days before the elections. What we discussed was the approval happened on March 10 which
was 60 days before the elections but the other [commissioners] were saying that the precincts
should have been transferred already to the malls. But when you come to think of it, the transfer
happens on Election Day itself, he said on ANC.
We have to move on, he added. The elections chief said that with the en bancs decision, the
Comelec will have to notify voters whose precincts were transferred to malls to return to their
regular precincts. Many were already excited about voting in malls but now we have to undo it.
If this is the decision, we have to live with it, Bautista said.
He also apologized to those who backed the proposal yet vowed that the Comelec will try again
in the 2019 election.
I really want to apologize to the voters who supported this innovation especially our senior
citizens and PWDs. The mall voting would have been easier for them to exercise their right to
suffrage. This is an idea whose time has not yet come and well try again in 2019, he said. In a
minute resolution last March 10, the en banc voted 6-1 to approve mall voting.
A total of 231, 174 voters from 1,592 precincts were supposed to cast their votes in 80 malls
nationwide. Comelec earlier projected that the mall voting was supposed to benefit 876 PWDs
and 28,136 senior citizens.
Commissioners Rowena Guanzon and Christian Robert Lim have opposed the measure, saying
that it will constitute a violation of the Omnibus Election Code which bars the transfer of polling
precincts 45 days before the elections.

Reference:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/781893/comelec-mall-voting-wont-push-through#ixzz47TIaOgza

Domingo, Evangeline M.

COE

05/02/16

Comelec scraps mall voting for May 9 polls

MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on
Wednesday, April 27, said it has scrapped the proposal to hold voting in malls for the May 9
polls.
In a news conference on Wednesday, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said the poll body
voted 4-3 to junk mall voting. Bautista said the plan was scrapped because the law requires the
transfer of precincts 45 days before elections.
"You can see that we sought and we obtained the approval of the en banc, and made sure that we
complied with all the requirements like subjecting the proposed transfers to public hearings
attached to the said approval. Despite all these, I regret to say that 3 members of the commission
changed their mind last night," Bautista said on Wednesday.
He said Comelec Commissioners Christian Lim, Arthur Lim, and Luie Guia changed their vote
on mall voting from positive to negative. Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon used to be
the lone dissenter fromBautistas mall voting proposal.
Guanzon earlier explained that the Omnibus Election Code prohibits the transfer of polling
places "within 45 days before a regular election." Christian Lim agreed with Guanzon.
PPCRV once worried, too
Eventually, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) echoed Lim and
Guanzons concerns. PPCRV head Henrietta De Villa said on Saturday, April 23: "Kasi ang
pagkakaalam ko, kahit hindi ako abogado e, pagkakaalam ko na you cannot do that 45 days
prior to elections. Na-address ba yon? Nalipat na ba? O meron na bang resolution na lipatin
yung mga polling precincts concerned?"

(Has that been done? Because as far as I know, even if Im not a lawyer, as far as I know, you
cannot do that 45 days prior to elections. Has that been addressed? Have these been transferred?
Or is there already a resolution to move the polling precincts concerned?)
De Villa said the Comelec should address legal issues on mall voting, or else the poll body could
face another court case.
"E ang napeperwisyo, hindi lang ang Comelec kundi ang electoral process yung paniwala
natin sa proseso ng eleksyon," De Villa said. (Whats affected is not only the Comelec but also
the electoral process our faith in the electoral process.)
After announcing that the Comelec has scrapped mall voting, Bautista apologized to voters who
wanted to vote in malls. He also said sorry to mall partners "who extended their help to
Comelec" as their concrete way to improve the elections.
He said voters who had been advised to vote in malls, will have to vote in the precincts where
they used to vote. "Pasensya na po sa abala," he said. (Sorry for the inconvenience.)
Bautista said: "In closing, we can say that we have done our best and we will still keep doing so
to make things better. Let me paraphrase AL Williams when he said, 'All you can do is all you
can do. Hopefully all we can do is enough." Rappler.com