Ayon sa Commission on Elections (COMELEC), umabot sa halos 3 milyong bagong botante ang nagparehistro kung saan mahigit 600,000 sa mga ito ay mga nagpa-reactivate na mga botante.
Umabot naman daw sa 5.3 milyon ang kanilang na-deactivate na botante matapos hindi makaboto nang dalawang sunod na eleksyon.
Patuloy naman na hinihikayat ng COMELEC ang mga Pilipino na magparehistro bago matapos ang itinakdang deadline ng voter’s registration sa September 30.
Ang mga paghahanda ng COMELEC sa darating na 2025 midterm elections, alamin sa panayam ni COMELEC Chairman George Erwin Garcia sa #TheMangahasInterviews.
Umabot naman daw sa 5.3 milyon ang kanilang na-deactivate na botante matapos hindi makaboto nang dalawang sunod na eleksyon.
Patuloy naman na hinihikayat ng COMELEC ang mga Pilipino na magparehistro bago matapos ang itinakdang deadline ng voter’s registration sa September 30.
Ang mga paghahanda ng COMELEC sa darating na 2025 midterm elections, alamin sa panayam ni COMELEC Chairman George Erwin Garcia sa #TheMangahasInterviews.
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NewsTranscript
00:00:00The country and the Commission on Elections are facing a serious issue in the upcoming elections.
00:00:11What is the Commission on Elections doing?
00:00:15Let's find out from Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia.
00:00:19Good day, sir.
00:00:20Good day, Ma'am Malu, and good day to our fellow countrymen.
00:00:23Sir, as you know, you are a lawyer for all kinds of politicians who ran, won, lost, etc.
00:00:31And he also became the dean of the College of Law of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.
00:00:37He became a pro bono anchor to explain the law to UNTV.
00:00:43So, let's start, sir.
00:00:44You have 49 offshore accounts in Cayman Islands, said Congressman Rodante Marcoleta.
00:00:51What is the status here?
00:00:53Ma'am Malu, actually it's 51. It's 51 because you said it's 49.
00:00:57After the second press conference, there are two more.
00:01:01Actually, we have proven that those accounts are fake, spurious and not true.
00:01:09As you know, the banks in Korea, there are six banks that said that these are fake accounts.
00:01:14Local banks in our country, there are also six banks that said that there's no such kind of account.
00:01:21At the same time, there's no such kind of transaction and there's no such kind of name in my name.
00:01:26I'm also accused, Ma'am Malu, that there are some properties abroad, like America, Singapore and other countries.
00:01:37I, Ma'am Malu, have not yet arrived in America. I don't have a visa there.
00:01:41I only have two visas in my life.
00:01:44Therefore, to those who are accusing me that there are accounts in different parts of the world that need visas,
00:01:51it seems impossible because based on our research, in order to open an account, you need to be personally present.
00:01:58At the same time, you need a visa to go there.
00:02:03So how can I have an account in America or properties in America, in a place that I haven't been to.
00:02:10I don't have an American visa.
00:02:12Again, it's sad, but I accepted that as part of the government.
00:02:19As I said, Ma'am Malu, I have no intention of filing any case because I will adjust that and I will make a double effort in my work
00:02:29because I will recover from that so that the people can continue to trust me.
00:02:35Okay. But I think you have two accusers in Congress.
00:02:40The former congressman, Erice, also has Bahamas files.
00:02:46The contents of the bank accounts and account numbers of PECE are the same.
00:02:53At the same time, the former congressman added that he doesn't have local accounts.
00:03:02All of them are foreign.
00:03:03It was intentional to remove the local accounts because it's hard to verify foreign accounts.
00:03:09In the former congressman, there are local accounts.
00:03:14That's why I'm happy, Ma'am Malu, because at least I have a chance to verify that.
00:03:19That's why we verified that the accounts are PECE.
00:03:23I issued an absolute waiver of all the accounts that I mentioned.
00:03:28I appealed to the Anti-Money Laundering Council and the National Bureau of Investigation
00:03:34to investigate if those are my accounts, what are the circumstances of opening those accounts, and what is the history of those accounts.
00:03:42I issued an absolute waiver to demand a perjury if those are my accounts.
00:03:50We can concede that you are smart. These two accusers are smart.
00:03:56But your allegations are huge.
00:03:59You said that you waived the bank secrecy on your accounts and you were cleared by NBI and AMLC.
00:04:08But what is behind this accusation?
00:04:11Did you discover who's behind it?
00:04:16Why are they needling you? What is the reason?
00:04:19You know Ma'am Malu, yes we discovered something and I was in the public eye in the past.
00:04:26But you know, at the moment, whoever is behind it, I don't know if Ma'am Malu will notice.
00:04:32What I believe is, at first, I thought it was directed to my personality, my fame, my name, and the white throwing.
00:04:42But in the end, when I analyzed all the things that happened, Ma'am Malu came out against the integrity of the Commission on Elections.
00:04:50Because the first accusation was of an official of the Comelec. I didn't mention his name.
00:04:55That's why I immediately ran away. They said it was me because the accounts were reading the list that I have a copy of.
00:05:02They gave me a copy. Therefore, if I didn't mention Ma'am Malu, the whole Comelec will be blamed.
00:05:10Even if our official is blamed, I will not allow that.
00:05:14You know, my name doesn't matter. I don't matter here.
00:05:18But the Comelec needs to maintain its integrity, especially as the 2025 national and local elections are coming up.
00:05:26The allegation is, if you look at the data, all the data is wrong, but they said there are some things that are correct, like your home address.
00:05:36Yes, the home address is exact. But in the leaked address, it is stated that after Makati City, there's a comma and there's a K-Y.
00:05:47You know K-Y is Kentucky, USA. That's the state code of K-Y, Kentucky.
00:05:55It means that it was leaked that my address is in Kentucky just to deposit money, just to show that I'm in America.
00:06:04It's sad because again, after Makati City, there should be no K-Y.
00:06:09But that's what hasn't been answered until now. Why did they put a K-Y?
00:06:13They also gave me a social security number of America.
00:06:16You know, if you have a social security number, you're an American citizen or a permanent resident of America.
00:06:23So again, I don't have a visa and I haven't been able to go to any territory of America.
00:06:29Okay. On my working visa.
00:06:31Why are you the only ones who are pointing out that this is a downing in the name of COMELEC,
00:06:36but the other COMELEC commissioners are not saying anything about these allegations?
00:06:42You know what's wrong and what's saddening is that I wasn't the only one who was researched.
00:06:46I'm not saying that the others should be the only ones. Why me?
00:06:49Maybe it's okay if I'm the only one and they shouldn't be the only ones.
00:06:52Because I can't be defended because my conscience is clear.
00:06:56If you're telling the truth, there's nothing bad that can happen to you.
00:07:02Maybe it's because I'm the head of the commission, I'm the one who's killing the father here.
00:07:09Therefore, if you kill the father and the father is injured, the whole family will be affected.
00:07:14Maybe that's their perception.
00:07:16I hope they research my personality. You know, I'm happy to be at home when there's no day off.
00:07:25I'm happy to watch Netflix.
00:07:27I'm happy that I'm not a busy person.
00:07:30Even when we were young, because we were poor, I didn't experience the hustle and bustle.
00:07:38Especially when you go abroad.
00:07:40Okay. But they said that you're an election commissioner and election lawyer.
00:07:45So you would not have done things like this if there's a little truth in the allegations.
00:07:52You would have known, Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Code of Conduct, etc.
00:07:57Even the Lifestyle Check.
00:07:59So what happened? Why are they targeting you?
00:08:03Why are there these crazy big allegations?
00:08:08Maybe if we trace the people who are really behind this,
00:08:13ordinary citizens will have a conclusion as to why I was punished.
00:08:19There were incidents that happened before we had the procurement.
00:08:25Maybe that's where everything will be traced.
00:08:27I cannot answer why I was punished until now.
00:08:33What I want to say to our countrymen is that I'm making a good living.
00:08:39I'm a practitioner. It's not dangerous compared to the government.
00:08:43I'm not here to steal or use the funds of the government.
00:08:47That's not what I will do.
00:08:49My father and mother are 35 years old.
00:08:51My father is a soldier and my mother is a teacher.
00:08:53They are involved in serving the government.
00:08:55Not a single case has been filed against them.
00:08:57We have no history.
00:08:59I will destroy their names.
00:09:02I hope I will just practice and not join the government.
00:09:05Meanwhile, there's a lot of work here and it's different compared to the private sector.
00:09:11There's pay cut but there's additional work.
00:09:13Mr. Andy Bautista is the former chairman of the Commission on Elections.
00:09:18It seems that the case will continue.
00:09:20Are you monitoring that?
00:09:23What will be the impact on the integrity of Comelecos if it's proven that the bribery allegations are true?
00:09:31The allegations there are very serious.
00:09:35It's a pity that our former chairman brought it up.
00:09:39But you know, we were given a copy of the indictment.
00:09:44We were able to read it.
00:09:46We are really worried because you know, even WhatsApp is being taken by the U.S.
00:09:52The conversations on WhatsApp are not admissible in evidence.
00:09:56But they are admissible in evidence.
00:09:58You know, we compared it to the documents we have, including the vouchers.
00:10:03It's exact to the last cent, the allegations of America.
00:10:09The accusation against them is about the issue of money laundering.
00:10:12But the issue of bribery and the issue of rigging of bidding is included here.
00:10:18Therefore, in my opinion, what we're doing now, as early as last year, in October,
00:10:24I created an 11-man panel to find out what is the root of this accusation.
00:10:32We believe that if we will not move, we will be the one to accuse and say that they're hiding something or protecting something.
00:10:41You're whitewashing whatever America is doing.
00:10:44To them, it's anti-money laundering.
00:10:47To us, it's bribery and rigging of bidding and tax fraud.
00:10:52Okay. Will you still file?
00:10:54Will the local courts pursue this parallel process?
00:10:59No.
00:11:00Or will you just wait for the case in the United States?
00:11:04We can pursue a parallel process, but there are implications.
00:11:09As far as possible, the investigation is still ongoing.
00:11:14We only got a few documents and we're doing an analysis.
00:11:20It's like we're doing a report.
00:11:23We're doing an analysis of the documents.
00:11:27But as you know, we're focused on the 2025 super election year.
00:11:33There are a lot of things that we're doing and we don't want to lose the focus of our colleagues in what we're doing.
00:11:40But again, that's not a reason to ignore if someone committed a crime, especially if it's money laundering.
00:11:50If we know about the Procurement Reform Act,
00:11:53the process before award bidding and award of contract is more intense.
00:11:59So it's possible that Chairman Bautista is not the only one involved.
00:12:05Because if it's rigged bidding, it cannot be bid by one person.
00:12:11Correct.
00:12:12Number two, the tax fraud. You know what will happen to the tax fraud.
00:12:16The tax fraud is 12 percent zero VAT. Zero VAT. We're not paying VAT.
00:12:23Why did we refund 7 percent, which is more or less P700 million.
00:12:27What is the basis? While we're zero VAT.
00:12:30What is the input tax that came from it so we can refund?
00:12:33That's where the people will wonder.
00:12:35Number two, why is it only one week between the two procurement of two machines, one is P23,000 and one is P80,977,
00:12:46and there's already P8,000 added to the second procurement.
00:12:51So it means something is really wrong and we want to know what is the reason why it happened.
00:12:57Why did we refund P700 million?
00:13:00All right. Okay. So it means there might be ten more issues within the internal controls, procurement process,
00:13:08and it might not have been done simply. Allegedly, Chairman Bautista is the only one involved.
00:13:16You're right. We are looking into actions that might have led to what happened and who is responsible for those things.
00:13:28That's why it's confusing when you look at it.
00:13:30Before the filing in America happened, I was fired and thrown out.
00:13:37What I want to ask is, is it to cover up the possible indictment of America, so I can learn what happened to me?
00:13:44Isn't that a very clever plan to cover up the fact that I'm the one who needs to be fired by the people.
00:13:52That's why it's already there. For me, I will focus on my work and again, I want to know what really happened in 2016.
00:14:01So it's like a diversionary tactic. Is that what you mean?
00:14:06Personally, that's the only reason I can see. I hope it's not.
00:14:12But then, I didn't divert attention and the commission is still focused on what happened in 2016.
00:14:23Okay. Chairman, regarding the case of former Mayor Alice Goh, what is the status?
00:14:29She asked for an extension. There are two extensions.
00:14:33Maybe because she wasn't here at first, how can she file a counter-affidavit.
00:14:39Her lawyers, in my opinion, should give us an explanation because when she asked for an extension,
00:14:46there's no answer and the answer is that there's no plan to return.
00:14:50Why did she ask for an extension? Now that she was arrested, she asked for a second extension.
00:14:55Maybe because she's already here. That's another issue.
00:14:59But my point is, there's a misrepresentation of accusations against her.
00:15:04We analyzed six fingerprints. We conducted a technical examination.
00:15:09All of our signatures are the same. Five of them are for Alice Goh. One is for Hua Ping.
00:15:17Therefore, it's just one person. We should have an explanation.
00:15:22Who filed it? Filipino citizen or Chinese citizen?
00:15:26Chairman, what's inside people's minds is, how did the KOM-ELEC pass?
00:15:32Is it possible to pass again in the 2025 elections?
00:15:35Because there are confirmed news that 1,200 birth certificates were issued in Davao del Sur.
00:15:43But how will you look at that?
00:15:45Because it's stated in the Constitution that every citizen will have every right to vote and be voted.
00:15:51There's nothing to look at if it's a citizen.
00:15:56Ma'am Alu, you asked if there's a possibility. There's a big possibility.
00:16:01I don't want to insist on the law, but the truth is, the case of Seraphica v. KOM-ELEC.
00:16:08The power of KOM-ELEC in receiving the certificates of candidacy is purely ministerial duty.
00:16:14It means that we have no discretion to refuse. That's why Battala filed it.
00:16:19That's why he filed it, because he believes in the country's progress.
00:16:26That's why he believes in Duwende.
00:16:28That's why even though he's not 40 years of age, he will file it even though he's 25 years of age.
00:16:32We have no discretion. We will accept all of that, according to the Supreme Court.
00:16:38If the name is included in the ballot, that's a different matter.
00:16:41Because there could be a case of disqualification, cancellation of candidacy.
00:16:46That's why KOM-ELEC will remove the name because it's just a nuisance on Wilson's candidate.
00:16:51We can have our own vote, Ma'am Alu.
00:16:54According to the Supreme Court, out of five things, five qualification requirements,
00:16:58age, citizenship, residency, registration as a voter and literacy, able to read and write,
00:17:06KOM-ELEC cannot have their own vote or we will file it ourselves.
00:17:10According to the Supreme Court, there should be a registered voter who will file it.
00:17:15Because we don't know everyone who filed their candidacy.
00:17:20Now, you discussed something in your second question.
00:17:23In the third aspect of your question, Ma'am Alu.
00:17:26Why don't we just submit a birth certificate to know the background of the person?
00:17:31There's a case that happened, Ma'am Alu.
00:17:34That's the case of Social Justice Society v. Dangerous Drugs Board at KOM-ELEC.
00:17:40Several years ago, KOM-ELEC required a certification that a person is not an addict.
00:17:46The candidate is not an addict.
00:17:48He will be attached to his certificate of candidacy.
00:17:52It was questioned by the Supreme Court.
00:17:54It was declared unconstitutional, Ma'am Alu.
00:17:57Correct.
00:17:58The Supreme Court said that you don't have the power to add requirements or qualifications
00:18:05that are not in the Constitution or the existing law.
00:18:09That's why we cannot add.
00:18:11We need a law to require the submission of additional documents.
00:18:18Okay.
00:18:19That means if there's no law before May 2025,
00:18:23you will force the citizens to question
00:18:29who they think are not true Filipino citizens.
00:18:34Ma'am Alu, I came up with a way and it was approved by KOM-ELEC and the bank.
00:18:38What is the way for all the certificates of candidacies of all the candidates in the Philippines,
00:18:45they are all more than 500,000 in 18,271 positions.
00:18:50All of those will be posted on the KOM-ELEC website.
00:18:54That means we will publish it.
00:18:56Based on our studies, there's no violation of data privacy because we will publish the required data or information of our Section 74.
00:19:09But personal information, like their email address or husband's name, we will not publish that.
00:19:17That's what we will cover.
00:19:21But other things, like how old he is, where he lives, what's his nickname, who endorsed his party.
00:19:29Those are all required by the law.
00:19:31Therefore, why are we hiding it?
00:19:33The citizens will base it on who you are, where you come from.
00:19:37That's where the voters will weigh you.
00:19:40Okay. So let's go to the panel that will reschedule the deadline for filing the certificate of candidacy and certificate of nomination.
00:19:50What do you think? Although you have spoken here,
00:19:53if you have a plan to publish all the candidates and ask the citizens to certify or validate if they are real citizens,
00:20:04does that mean it's hard to postpone the filing of the deadline for the COC?
00:20:11Ma'am Malu, we are really clinging to our Congress.
00:20:15Although today, we learned that the House Committee on Electoral Reforms approved the resolution to postpone the filing of the candidacy,
00:20:25if not December 1 to 8, even November 1 to 8.
00:20:28You know, there's a reason why we always file an automated election early.
00:20:33Number one, at the moment, we want to fulfill our commitment.
00:20:37Before November 30, all the cases of nuisance will be resolved by the Committee.
00:20:44The election will not be in vain.
00:20:48The name of the nuisance or the purpose is to confuse our fellow countrymen.
00:20:53It's happening in Negros Oriental, where one of our governors is a nuisance.
00:20:59We don't want that to happen. We want to resolve all nuisance candidacies.
00:21:03Number two, Ma'am Malu, we want to print ballots early.
00:21:07We will remember our estimate projection, 70 million voters.
00:21:12That means, Ma'am Malu, that's 70 million ballots.
00:21:15After Ma'am Malu, we have the Bangsamoro parliamentary election for the first time in our history.
00:21:23That's 73 million.
00:21:24Everyone should understand that every country has different ballot phases.
00:21:31Why? Because it's possible that the candidates are the same for senators, the same for party list,
00:21:38but the candidates are different for congressman, for governor, for vice governor, for mayor, for vice mayor, for the entire country.
00:21:46That means, if we have less than 2,000 cities and municipalities in the entire country,
00:21:522,000 ballot phases will be arranged by the Committee and the list should be final.
00:21:58The reason why, Ma'am Malu, we are not allowing our substitution in case of withdrawal.
00:22:05There is no substitution in case of withdrawal of candidacies.
00:22:09Their plan to reschedule the deadline for filing of COCs is related to your announcement that when you file,
00:22:19it should count as a candidate.
00:22:21It looks like you want to count expenditures and contributions.
00:22:26It also looks like you're looking at how the campaign will proceed.
00:22:31Is that right? I think that's the trigger concern or issue for the congressmen.
00:22:37Yes. Because I announced or because of our resolution that was promulgated last week, there's no substitution in case of withdrawal.
00:22:45So there's no need to rush because there's no change and therefore, the list should be final.
00:22:50It's not that easy, Ma'am Malu, because like what I explained, there are implications.
00:22:56The closer filing or the earlier filing.
00:23:00Now regarding being a candidate, we clarified this and I will repeat this in your program.
00:23:07The Supreme Court said in the case of Peñera v. Komilet, which is also included in Republic Act 9369,
00:23:14when a candidacy files all the candidates in an automated election, they are not yet a candidate.
00:23:20It means that they will be able to go around, they will be able to give their contribution.
00:23:24If they show up, they will be there in our streets. They will not be charged because they are not yet a candidate.
00:23:33All their expenses from October, November, December, January to February in the middle and March until the local position,
00:23:41they are not yet a candidate and they don't need to reflect on the statement of contribution and expenditures.
00:23:49The Supreme Court said that they are only a candidate in the first day of the campaign period.
00:23:55Senators show up 90 days before the election and local positions show up 45 days before the election.
00:24:06So does that mean that you will count them?
00:24:08Because even now, there are a lot of poll ads of those who are planning to run in the 2025 elections,
00:24:16re-electionists, especially most of them.
00:24:19So how about that? Will they not be counted in their expenses?
00:24:24Unfortunately, ma'am Malu, no.
00:24:26Because the Supreme Court said that they are not yet a candidate.
00:24:30Of course, we should be careful when they are a candidate.
00:24:34That's the big loophole of the law.
00:24:36As I've said, there's nothing we can do.
00:24:39We implemented the premature campaigning of the Barangay SK elections, if you remember.
00:24:44That's really a relief.
00:24:46The election of the barangay was clean.
00:24:49Because the barangay of SK is a manual election.
00:24:53While for automated elections, we will apply the Penera Doctrine and Section 15 of 9369.
00:25:00Because of that, Comelec's hands are tied because we are just implementing our existing law.
00:25:07Absent a law or the amendment to the automated elections law,
00:25:11does Comelec not have the power to issue a resolution like what you did in the Barangay SK elections,
00:25:19that premature campaigning is prohibited?
00:25:22In our opinion, based on the study of our law department,
00:25:26we cannot do that because that would be unconstitutional and usurpation of the power of the Congress.
00:25:33What we did in the Barangay SK elections is because it's a manual election.
00:25:37It's clear that it's a manual election.
00:25:39But for automated elections, as the Supreme Court said in the case of Penera,
00:25:44there is no premature campaigning.
00:25:46Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code is now deemed declared invalid because of the decision in the Penera case.
00:25:54Okay.
00:25:55Let's go to the nominees, to the candidates.
00:25:58You said it's the Nuisance candidates.
00:26:00You want to remove them before the election period and the campaign starts.
00:26:05So the deadline for filing the COC would be earlier.
00:26:09But it seems that the monitoring and regulation of Comelec is negligible in political parties.
00:26:15One proof they're saying is that in some elections, the majority party is always a coalition.
00:26:22It's not the real, organic, original political party.
00:26:26And now, I think it will happen again.
00:26:28In the past, small parties, when there's a coalition because their president or senators won,
00:26:34it becomes a coalition, a majority coalition.
00:26:37How is that? Do you have clarity?
00:26:40In the past, coalitions were allies. It became an UNA and now it's a federal party.
00:26:46What is your view on that?
00:26:48Yes, that's also one of the loopholes of our law or gray area.
00:26:53Because according to the law, as long as there's a coalition and Comelec approves the coalition,
00:26:59it is treated as one whole political party.
00:27:03Of course, when the CONA or Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance is filed,
00:27:09the individual political parties are no longer included.
00:27:14Therefore, the name of the coalition will be included as a separate independent political party.
00:27:20Therefore, they can now nominate.
00:27:23Others are just a loose coalition.
00:27:27It means that they are joining forces, but they're not letting us approve it.
00:27:30Lately, we have heard a lot of news that they're joining forces, they're forming a coalition,
00:27:35but they're not letting us approve the Comelec.
00:27:37Therefore, we expect that when they file their candidacy,
00:27:40the candidates will still use the individual political party CONA of the parties.
00:27:49They will not use the coalition because they are not recognized or accredited by the Commission on Elections.
00:27:56But to be honest, the last time we looked at it,
00:27:59there are still around 200 political parties that are on the Comelec's record.
00:28:04Others are dormant.
00:28:06There's no movement, there's no movement.
00:28:08It's small.
00:28:09Suddenly, it will grow.
00:28:11It depends on who will win, the president or the second president.
00:28:15It seems like the monitoring is becoming more subtle.
00:28:18Who is the party president, chairman, treasurer?
00:28:22Particularly, who has the right to receive donations and expenses when it comes to elections.
00:28:29This is what the Comelec wants to clarify.
00:28:32As the political parties in the Philippines say, it's like flags of convenience.
00:28:37If someone has money, if someone has machinery, our politicians will go there.
00:28:43That's why the gerrymandering or what they call political butterflies,
00:28:48we only see it during elections.
00:28:51That's the reason why we have a submission of CEUs, sworn information update statements.
00:28:57Because as you said, sometimes the treasurer is gone.
00:29:02Suddenly, there's a new treasurer.
00:29:04Suddenly, the official changed.
00:29:07Before, there's no such thing.
00:29:08He didn't become a member.
00:29:09We will trace it now.
00:29:11To avoid this, a lot is happening.
00:29:14They are fighting.
00:29:15The parties are fighting.
00:29:17Maybe because he became big, before he was just a tricycle.
00:29:20Now, he's a bus.
00:29:21That's all.
00:29:22Don't worry, this is my commitment as a practitioner.
00:29:26I'm the one who's leading the Comelec.
00:29:29Do you know that there's a provision in the Omnibus Election Code that if a party did not get a certain percentage during the election,
00:29:38they can be disaccredited or dissolved.
00:29:41We will implement that.
00:29:43Until now, we've been asking for a long time to change the Omnibus Election Code.
00:29:47They are not changing it.
00:29:48We will use it now.
00:29:50Even if we have an open party system that is included in the Constitution,
00:29:54but there's a regulation that we can dissolve the party list if they did not get a certain percentage during the election,
00:30:05in the same place or jurisdiction where they are running.
00:30:09It's like that.
00:30:10Over 200 national, regional, and local political parties.
00:30:15Others, none of them were able to win.
00:30:18And yet, they are still in the record of the Comelec.
00:30:21They say that's the home of the nuisance candidates or fundraising vessels of the politicians.
00:30:29I agree with that Ma'am Malu.
00:30:31At the same time, sometimes the politicians have nowhere to go,
00:30:35they are looking for a place to live.
00:30:39Sometimes they become a sanctuary,
00:30:41where the only purpose of the candidates is to pass the funds to the political parties.
00:30:47We are aware of that.
00:30:49Again, this is also based on the cleaning that we are doing for our sources,
00:30:56for the party systems of the Philippines.
00:30:59We are implementing the provision of the Omnibus Election Code on that.
00:31:03It's like a life-and-death situation.
00:31:05It depends on the election.
00:31:06That's what we are doing.
00:31:08There are six political parties that suddenly filed a manifestation to the Comelec to participate in the party list.
00:31:18We denied all of that.
00:31:21We turned it down because we said that if you read the party list,
00:31:25if you read the numerous decisions of the Supreme Court,
00:31:29from the start, you should be accredited as a political party participating under the party list,
00:31:34not as a political party and you don't win, then suddenly you are on the party list.
00:31:39That's not allowed because the party list is not a sanctuary for those who don't win political parties.
00:31:48From the start, if you want a party list, it's a party list.
00:31:51You're not a political party and suddenly you're on the party list.
00:31:55That's how the interpretation of our law is.
00:32:00But they said that it looks like the politicians have taken over,
00:32:06or the politicians' children, or the politicians who don't win, or those who are on a break.
00:32:10The party list system, there are a lot of things like that.
00:32:13Yes, we changed the rules on the party list.
00:32:19We are ready to defend our actions in the Supreme Court,
00:32:22even though we are still waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court.
00:32:25What did we do?
00:32:26Aside from the absence of substitution for the candidates withdrawing after October 8,
00:32:31we required the party list to submit only 10 nominees.
00:32:36If the 10 nominees are exhausted, whatever the reason, aside from death or disqualification,
00:32:42we will not allow the party list to submit a new list, up to 10 nominees.
00:32:48That's what happened in the past.
00:32:49Five nominees were submitted by the party list.
00:32:53After that, when they won, everyone resigned because they're sick.
00:32:56It's like they don't believe anymore.
00:32:58They resigned because everyone is sick.
00:33:00Suddenly, they will submit a new list.
00:33:03You didn't see or hear the names, but they are the real financiers.
00:33:08They are the real ones at the back.
00:33:11Now, they are sick.
00:33:13They put their names in the list of 10.
00:33:15You don't know that they are the ones who are in charge of the party list.
00:33:23I think that's what's happening.
00:33:25Politicians are absorbing, our traditional politicians, the funding needed by the party list.
00:33:32If they win, they will be substituted.
00:33:35It's like people are losing their minds that our party list system is dominated by politicians.
00:33:42It's limiting.
00:33:44Political families are also members of the party list.
00:33:48It's just the truth.
00:33:50Therefore, there needs to be a re-examination of the party list system of representation.
00:33:56It should belong to the marginalized and underrepresented.
00:34:00That is explained in Section 5 of Article 6 of our Constitution.
00:34:04It belongs to the marginalized and underrepresented sector of our society.
00:34:09Okay. Now let's go to the continuing registration of voters until the end of September.
00:34:16But you also said that the deactivated voters are more than the newly registered voters.
00:34:26What is the status? What is your target?
00:34:29You're right. At the moment, we have 2.3 million newly registered voters.
00:34:36But more or less, we are also activating 600,000.
00:34:40So we have three million newly registered voters.
00:34:43But it's sad because after the examination of our records,
00:34:49we have 5.3 million voters who are deactivated.
00:34:54They didn't vote in the next two elections.
00:34:57Of course, those 5.3 million voters are not included in the 200,000 double or multiple registrants.
00:35:04We also saw those who died, those who died not in the place where they registered.
00:35:10So more or less, all of those six million voters are removed from the list.
00:35:16That's a big thing.
00:35:18The six million voters, when it comes out, it's like the three million voters are gone.
00:35:24That's why we are still calling for our registration until September 30.
00:35:29Maybe it's appropriate to reactivate the 5.3 million of our countrymen.
00:35:35To be honest, you cannot remove names from the book of voters.
00:35:40It means they can be reactivated if they think that they didn't vote in the last two elections,
00:35:49but they want to rise again in 2025.
00:35:52You're right. As you know, 82.5 percent of our voters turned out in 2022.
00:35:59It means we have 17.5 percent who didn't vote.
00:36:02In my opinion, the 5.3 million, maybe that's the 17.5 percent who didn't vote in the Barangay and Esquire elections.
00:36:10After that, they will vote again in the presidential and vice presidential elections in 2020.
00:36:17We don't want that. Even if it's only the barangay or the municipality, it's important to hear the voice of the people.
00:36:25We have no right to complain if we don't participate in our electoral exercises.
00:36:31Those 200,000 double or multiple registrants, are they the potential flying voters?
00:36:38That's possible. But as you know, according to our analysis, that's the first thing that comes to our mind.
00:36:45Maybe they are the flying voters, but they are not.
00:36:48They are the double or multiple registrants.
00:36:51They can prove that they are registered and therefore, their records are still existing.
00:36:56What they did, they still formed the new application for registration.
00:37:01That's why they moved to another place.
00:37:04They are not able to vote like they used to vote.
00:37:07They just transferred their registration or registered a new one.
00:37:12We should transfer with reactivation. We transfer and then we reactivate.
00:37:20Don't register a new one because you can be charged with one to six years imprisonment for election offense.
00:37:27That's a criminal case.
00:37:28Summa total, how many expected voters do you have in May 2025, plus or minus the new voters and the deactivated?
00:37:35We should have more than 70 million voters.
00:37:39That's our projection. But it looks like only 68 million will come out.
00:37:43At the moment, we have 66 million.
00:37:46If we register from July 16 to September 30, we can only reach two million.
00:37:52Therefore, even if you add to the 66 million, it will only be 68 million voters.
00:37:58Because of the big loss in the deactivated, it's okay if we can reactivate the 5.3 million voters.
00:38:06As for the overseas voters, it looks like there are more registrants.
00:38:10But the turnout is not that good, especially for women.
00:38:15What is the status of internet voting?
00:38:18It looks like you already have a contract. What is the outlook in your opinion? Will there be more?
00:38:24It's not that promising for our countrymen who are registering.
00:38:29At the moment, our registered voters abroad are 1,180,000 voters.
00:38:39The projection should be 3 million because we announced that we already have internet voting.
00:38:44They don't need to go to the embassy to vote or send envelopes containing ballots.
00:38:51You're right, we already have a system that was procured for internet voting.
00:38:57This is worth P100 million. Our ABC should be P465 million.
00:39:05But we only got P100 million offer.
00:39:08We were really nervous.
00:39:10That's why we used the Procurement Act.
00:39:14They won the pre-qualification and post-qualification.
00:39:19The lowest calculated bid.
00:39:21There's nothing we can do.
00:39:23That's why we are trying hard to comply with all the promises and commitments in our procurement.
00:39:31Okay. So is this internet voting only for overseas voters?
00:39:36Can't we have that option here in the Philippines?
00:39:41You know Ma'am Malu, internet voting is good for internet banking
00:39:46or when we pay our bills through the internet.
00:39:52But you know, it's better to test the internet voting abroad first.
00:39:57Let's look at the vulnerabilities. Let's see if it's secure and safe.
00:40:00Can it be protected? Can the voters verify if their vote is counted correctly?
00:40:05If it's secure, Ma'am Malu, you know it's better to use internet voting for the elderly.
00:40:11They won't leave their homes. There are a lot of elderly people there.
00:40:15It's safe and the instructions are simple.
00:40:17Number two, for those with disabilities, why would they have a problem in voting in our precincts,
00:40:23if they can vote using their cellphones, laptops and iPads.
00:40:26That's why people bring their phones so they won't be in a hurry while voting in our precincts.
00:40:33We will get there Ma'am Malu. We have to enhance democracy using modern technology.
00:40:38But not in 2025. Is there a clear outlook for 2028?
00:40:45You know, it's necessary aside from the internet voting for our countrymen.
00:40:50Here domestically, it's better to think about it.
00:40:53Even in the barangay of SK, we should automate it so it's just one expense.
00:40:59At the same time, it's faster to see and count the votes.
00:41:03While counting takes a long time, especially when there's violence,
00:41:07theft of balotas or committing crimes so that the proclamation of the winning candidate will not continue.
00:41:14The BARMM elections is the first time that there will be parliamentary elections for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Moslem, Mindanao.
00:41:24What is the situation now? Are there a lot of people who want to run?
00:41:30What is the outlook? Will there be new political candidates or will the political families return?
00:41:38Of course, Ma'am Malu, as they say, political families, traditional political families versus the former mountains.
00:41:47This battle is different. I will honestly tell you Ma'am Malu that I'm nervous about this battle.
00:41:54But we are the ones who are preparing and we have our plan A, plan B, plan C about these things.
00:42:00We should also know that our countrymen, aside from electing their representatives in the parliament,
00:42:08they will elect their political party, like a party list.
00:42:13Later, Ma'am Malu will give us a credit of 16 political parties and 1,500 sectoral organizations
00:42:22so that they can be counted in the election of who will be elected as a representative.
00:42:28Because they are mixed, direct voting, sectoral reps and party reps.
00:42:33Ma'am Malu, there are 80 members in the parliament. Of those 80, Ma'am Malu, 40 are in the political parties,
00:42:4332 are in the parliamentary district and 8 are in the sectoral organization.
00:42:49Think about it, 1,500 will give us a credit and only 8 will fight in the election.
00:42:57Earlier, there was an announcement by the Supreme Court, Ma'am Malu, that the decision of the Supreme Court
00:43:02does not include Sulu in Bangsamoro. That's why this is a big development.
00:43:08You should look forward to what we will say about that because we want to know the implication of this in our election,
00:43:18if Sulu will be removed from Bangsamoro.
00:43:20The number of seats will be reduced, up for grabs.
00:43:25That's right, Ma'am Malu. The question is, can we reduce the number of seats if there is no change in the law?
00:43:31Correct.
00:43:32If there is no amendment in the law, can we do that now or should there be a change in the organic law
00:43:39that we are following for the conduct and holding of the election?
00:43:44What is the difference between BARM elections and their election code?
00:43:49Even for political parties, they have a gender-friendly provision. What is the membership of women?
00:44:00What is the difference between them and BARM elections?
00:44:06What they did is very proud because they put 40% for women in the political parties.
00:44:17At the same time, Ma'am Malu, they also put anti-political dynasty provision up to second degree,
00:44:22for mothers, parents, children and grandparents.
00:44:27That means they are more advanced than our omnibus election code in 1985 because they have gender-sensitive provision
00:44:36and they also have anti-political dynasty provision.
00:44:39As you can see Ma'am Malu, political parties should have 10,000 members.
00:44:43That means they are making sure that the political parties are well-represented in the entire region.
00:44:49For us, sometimes we only have 100 members and it's already a political party.
00:44:53Sometimes, there are no members and it's just a political party.
00:44:58But the issue of hotspots or what they call areas of concern of KOMELEC,
00:45:06what is your reading? Are there more of them?
00:45:10Particularly, it's not just the usual BARM in different places because the rivalry is getting intense in some provinces and regions.
00:45:20Maybe in BARM, we haven't had any violence there yet.
00:45:24Maybe you know, if they are our Muslim brothers who are fighting,
00:45:29we believe that there will be silence in BARM.
00:45:35In other places, there will be violence or the lack of understanding of the political parties.
00:45:42It's getting hot because we are monitoring violence.
00:45:46There are only barangay officials and municipal officials.
00:45:50But this is just the beginning of the election campaign.
00:45:55Especially Ma'am Malu, when the candidacy was filed on October 1, 2020,
00:45:59sadly, we don't have the power when the candidacy was filed because remember,
00:46:05the power of KOMELEC will only come in when the so-called election period started.
00:46:10Okay. So it means that the filing of the certificate of candidacy on October 1 to 8,
00:46:15the election period, how many days is that?
00:46:19It's 20 days before the election, which is for January, around January 20.
00:46:24All right. But one of the problems you are facing now is the budget cut for 2025.
00:46:32So what do you want to happen?
00:46:37Because from P45 billion, it has only become P34 billion approved by the Department of Budget.
00:46:45So you have a net gap of P14 billion in your budget.
00:46:51So what will happen if your budget is small in 2025?
00:46:56Ma'am Malu, P49 is the proposal that was reduced to P45.
00:47:01Therefore, you're right. We lost P14 billion.
00:47:05Of that P14 billion, Ma'am Malu, P3 billion is in the national and local elections
00:47:10and the remaining P11 billion is in the barangay and SK elections.
00:47:14We lost P3 billion for the training of our teachers. That was compromised.
00:47:21After the forms and supplies that we need, that was also compromised.
00:47:26It's a good thing that we fought across the board.
00:47:31The increase of the honorary teachers in NLE was allowed, P2,000 each, regardless whether chairman, vice chairman or member.
00:47:41At the same time, support staff was allowed for each principal and two support staff for each principal of each school.
00:47:50Now our problem is with the P11 billion that was lost in the barangay and SK elections.
00:47:55The biggest loss there was the removal of the P2,000 increase for the teachers.
00:48:03So there was no increase for the teachers in the barangay and SK elections in 2025.
00:48:10Number two, the support staff of each precinct and principals are no longer available.
00:48:17Therefore, it seems that the electoral board members can't be ordered to run because they're not available.
00:48:23At the same time, our deployment was sacrificed for the dispatch of the elections.
00:48:31It's a big loss.
00:48:34But again, we understand the situation, the fiscal space that we currently have and we cannot blame them for the loss of that huge fund.
00:48:45But there's still a chance for you to run until the bicam.
00:48:50The proposal hasn't been submitted to the Senate yet.
00:48:53Maybe it can be fixed or brought back.
00:48:56You're right Ma'am Malu.
00:48:57Last week, when we faced a low-income situation, all the members of the subcommittee supported the return of the fund of the Commission on Election.
00:49:07They're all unanimous.
00:49:09Now, it's the 19th of this month.
00:49:12We will face the Senate and we will continue to ask for the return of the fund that was lost to us.
00:49:19It will be a compromise.
00:49:21We will look for things that we can deliver to the people to ensure that our election will be good.
00:49:27But if there's no fund, it will be a compromise.
00:49:30The barangay and SK elections will be held in 2025. What month is it?
00:49:36It's December 3, more or less December of 2025.
00:49:40So it will be five months, Ma'am Malu.
00:49:42From May 3, 2025, national and local elections, we will have barangay and SK elections.
00:49:47Okay. So it means that last year, it should be one year and a few months.
00:49:53So this will be the coordinated postponement of the barangay and SK elections.
00:50:01You're right Ma'am Malu.
00:50:02Now, there's a proposal from the Senate and the low-income people that we attended.
00:50:06We went there ourselves.
00:50:07They are fixing the term of office of the barangay and SK elections.
00:50:12One proposal is for six years from 2025.
00:50:15The other proposal is for five years from 2025.
00:50:19We will discuss the discretion of the Congress or the wisdom of the Congress,
00:50:23whether it's six years or five years to support your comment.
00:50:27But they said that the barangay and SK elections should be non-partisan.
00:50:31But in real life, there are many politicians who are becoming war leaders.
00:50:40How did you check that the barangay and SK elections should be non-political and non-partisan,
00:50:47but our congressmen, mayors, governors and even senators are asking for it?
00:50:53You know Ma'am Malu, it's happening because of a decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Quintos v. Comelec.
00:51:02In the case of Quintos v. Comelec, the Supreme Court said, by the very nature of the barangay officials, they are political.
00:51:10Therefore, they can campaign, they can support, that's what they said.
00:51:16What they are saying about being non-political is that they cannot file nominations from political parties.
00:51:24Okay. So it means that it's still okay.
00:51:28Because in reality, what's happening is that if there are re-electionists, especially those who were supported by the barangay and SK,
00:51:38it's certain that they can use funds, personnel, facilities and resources of the government.
00:51:46This is clearly the party of the re-electionists.
00:51:49Yes, Ma'am Malu. The incumbents will remember, we have disqualified governors, city mayors, mayors,
00:51:57because of the use of the so-called state resources, unlike the commission of elections under the guise of social services.
00:52:05We will remember that all social services are suspended and cannot be implemented,
00:52:10except if the commission of elections has an agreement.
00:52:13I hope that the number of candidates will not go wrong. We will trace the comments and find out the history of the nomination.
00:52:22Is that what we just thought of? In 2022, someone wants to nominate half a billion pesos worth of rice.
00:52:29Did they just think of that during the election? They can nominate before the campaign or during the campaign period.
00:52:35Why would they nominate during the campaign period? There's no other way to use it, if not, so that it can be bought by our countrymen.
00:52:44We turned that down, we denied that kind of application.
00:52:48You're right because during the last election, 2022, a lot of people asked for exemptions under the pretext that there was calamity,
00:53:00but when we checked, there was no calamity before asking for exemptions under COMELEC.
00:53:06At the same time, recently, in the last administration and it will continue now, they said that aid politics is very prevalent.
00:53:17Everyone has aid here and there.
00:53:19What will you do? It seems like it's hard to deny the real basis that social welfare benefits are needed.
00:53:28But it seems like more people are abusing the exemptions application.
00:53:33You know it's a regular project like scholarships, like projects for senior citizens that really need maintenance, medicines,
00:53:44and burial assistance for our countrymen who need burial assistance.
00:53:49We will not stop that. But the AICS that is included in our guidelines, 10 days before the election,
00:53:55the distribution of AICS is prohibited. We will not allow that.
00:53:59Therefore, it's clear, we made it clear to the DSWD, to the entire DSWD, that they should find a way to help our countrymen during the period
00:54:10when the AICS will only provide assistance to our countrymen.
00:54:13So that some candidates will not use the beautiful project of the government,
00:54:19but they will use it to buy votes from our countrymen.
00:54:23Now, February 2025 will come, there will be two commissioners whose term will end,
00:54:30Commissioner Inting and Commissioner Casquejo.
00:54:34What do you think will be good if there will be additional people in the commission?
00:54:40This is personal Ma'am Malu, without trying to influence the appointing authority,
00:54:45please don't consider it that way.
00:54:47But you know Ma'am Malu, we will retire in February.
00:54:50The most that our president can appoint is March.
00:54:53Maybe March. Ma'am Malu, it's only been two months, April-May.
00:54:58Wouldn't it be better if there will be insiders in the commission so they can understand what we're doing
00:55:05and at the same time, they can understand the problems we're facing because they are already involved.
00:55:12I hope it will be like that. But of course, this is the absolute discretion of the appointing authority of our president.
00:55:18But on the other hand, it's like a mixed record of outsiders or political allies and insiders.
00:55:28Yes, as you can see Ma'am Malu, I myself have a little knowledge about elections
00:55:33because that's what I've been doing for the last two decades.
00:55:37When I was appointed in March as a commissioner, it was still hard to adjust.
00:55:45It was still hard because you don't know what the plans are.
00:55:48You don't know what you did when you were appointed.
00:55:51You have to put yourself in the position so you can have a job or an account in the commission.
00:55:58Ma'am Malu, what if you haven't been confirmed yet?
00:56:01That's what the appointees will face.
00:56:05On the other hand, Ma'am Malu, it's hard for an insider.
00:56:09It means that she will resign from her position.
00:56:12If she resigns, what if she can't be confirmed?
00:56:15She will be fired.
00:56:19What kind of talent and skills do you think can be value-added?
00:56:26It's like you need an election lawyer, you need someone who knows social media, technology, etc.
00:56:34What is lacking if you have a wish list that would complete the mix of talents in the commission?
00:56:43You know Ma'am Malu, in the end, there is no account of ability.
00:56:48There is no account of what you studied.
00:56:50There is no account of experience.
00:56:53In the end, it's all about love for your job and for your country.
00:56:57In my opinion, everyone will start.
00:56:59I'm not saying that I'm pushing myself, but what's important Ma'am Malu,
00:57:03is that you care and you have a concern.
00:57:05You have an obligation to continue the democracy of our country.
00:57:09If this falls apart, what kind of democracy will the next generations expect from us?
00:57:16In my opinion, even if you don't know much about election law,
00:57:19even if you don't know much about talking about elections,
00:57:23but if you have a heart for our country,
00:57:27I think everyone will start for the good of our beautiful democracy.
00:57:33It's like what they say, I've heard justice before.
00:57:37The problem is when it comes to appointees, there are different kinds of people.
00:57:41Honest but incompetent, competent but dishonest.
00:57:46Honest and competent are rare.
00:57:49You will add hardworking.
00:57:51Is there an option to check who should be appointed?
00:57:57Because the two you will add together until 2029,
00:58:01they will be commissioners until the next election for president.
00:58:07You know, it's a question really of character.
00:58:11Here in the government, what everyone needs to look at,
00:58:15even the appointees, is always the issue of character.
00:58:19If the government is honest and competent,
00:58:23it will also be fair to the government.
00:58:27That's what I believe in.
00:58:29Again, it's a difficult responsibility.
00:58:31It's the responsibility of the people and number two, it's the future of democracy.
00:58:36That's what the people of Comelec are facing.
00:58:39From May 2025 and onward, what are your biggest challenges?
00:58:43Some say AI and deepfakes are there.
00:58:47Others say buying votes through e-wallets and fintech.
00:58:55What do you think and what is your plan to reduce the negative impact of social media,
00:59:04AI, deepfakes, and buying votes online?
00:59:09This week, Malu will attempt and Comelec will try to issue guidelines for the first time
00:59:15regarding social media, AI, deepfakes, and other kinds of technology used in the campaign.
00:59:23We need to return the campaign to the public.
00:59:27At the moment, we are monitoring the use of AI and new technology in the campaign,
00:59:34especially the use of social media.
00:59:36Our question is, can Comelec regulate social media without a law?
00:59:42We are arguing that we have rulemaking power.
00:59:45We have Republic Act 9006, the Fair Elections Act,
00:59:49which states that we can regulate not only the mainstream media but also other forms of media,
00:59:54not just social media but other forms of media.
00:59:57Therefore, we can regulate it because if we don't do it,
01:00:00one day before the election, a candidate was campaigning,
01:00:07his voice, his face, his mouth, he said no because it's deepfake.
01:00:12It's fake. Why would we allow it if it's fake?
01:00:16For me, that's absolutely a ban.
01:00:19We need to regulate social media and therefore, we need to have a punishment for non-compliance with our regulation.
01:00:27I hope our countrymen and candidates will accept our guidelines.
01:00:31If in your opinion, it's not right and wrong, we should ask the Supreme Court to test our power.
01:00:39What about vote buying through e-wallets?
01:00:43We will do that as long as there's proper coordination of the Anti-Money Laundering Council,
01:00:49the Central Bank of the Philippines and the platforms.
01:00:52We will still implement our presumptions.
01:00:55If there's an indelible ink, one day before the election,
01:00:58if there's a half million pesos, if there's an election for Pernalia,
01:01:01if there's a line in front of the house or headquarters,
01:01:04we will continue all of those presumptions.
01:01:07I assure you, ma'am Malu, we have a lot of show-cause orders, disqualification and non-compliance of our candidates.
01:01:15That's the vote buying through other services online.
01:01:20As you know, the Marangay NLT has nothing to buy.
01:01:23The truth is, other platforms helped us and the Central Bank of the Philippines issued a circular.
01:01:30These platforms are warning us not to use them.
01:01:34At the same time, we said that if one person sends to 20 people,
01:01:38at the same time in one day, we will presume that he's engaged in vote buying.
01:01:42That's a bit scary and it's in the minds of the candidates,
01:01:46that they might be accused of vote buying.
01:01:48The most important thing is the candidate is acting.
01:01:51What does it mean?
01:01:52If a person speaks up and says he's looking for a picture, a video, a counter affidavit,
01:01:58who will you complain to?
01:01:59If that's what you're asking for, that's how tight it is, so you can file a case.
01:02:04For us, the Marangay NLT just took a picture and we acted.
01:02:07Just a video and we acted.
01:02:09We don't care who took the video and what camera they used.
01:02:12As long as we acted, we will issue the necessary show-cause orders against the candidate.
01:02:17Let him explain.
01:02:18At the end of the day, there is due process.
01:02:20Let's see how he will defend himself.
01:02:23He will do that and then he won't be able to defend himself.
01:02:26That's our approach, Ma'am Malu.
01:02:29In my opinion, it's not an eye for an eye,
01:02:32but the only way we can continue our election is to implement our laws properly.
01:02:40Okay. You have a lot of work to do.
01:02:43We are wishing for the best for the upcoming elections and for the work of Comelec.
01:02:52Thank you very much, Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia.
01:02:56Thank you, Ma'am Malu. Long live.
01:03:13For more information, visit www.fema.gov