Umaasa ang isang opisyal ng Commission on Elections na makumpleto ang kinakailangang budgetary requirements bago magdaos ng May 2025 elections.
Ito ay matapos bawasan ang 2024 proposed budget ng komisyon mula P43.71 bilyon hanggang P27.10 bilyon, sa ilalim ng panukalang P5.678-trillion 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP) na isinumite ng Department of Budget and Management sa House of Representatives noong Miyerkules.
“While this 2024 budget figure may not cover the total budgetary requirements for the May 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE), we are expecting that the remainder of the said NLE fund requirements will be budgeted for FY 2025 and released in time for the last phase of preparations, which is on the 1st quarter of 2025 itself, and this without further delay,” sinabi ni Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco sa media Viber.
Sinabi ni Laudiangco na dahil sa pagbawas sa proposed budget nito para sa 2024, ang Comelec ay maaaring kumuha sa “lot basis,” partikular na para sa mga bahagi ng target na automated election system (AES), depende sa pagkakaroon ng paglalaan ng pondo.
“And as stated by the Comelec Chairman po, instead of adding support staff for the benefit of the electoral boards, we will have to reduce. Another will be to cluster a greater number of voters, perhaps maximizing to a thousand per clustered precinct, instead of just 800,” sabi ni Laudiangco.
Aniya, maaari ring maantala ang pagsasanay at sertipikasyon ng Department of Science and Technology hanggang 2025.
Sinabi ni Comelec Chairman George Garcia na ang poll body ay maaaring gumamit ng pagbabawas ng support staff ng bawat presinto o pagpapadami ng botante bawat presinto para hindi ganung kadami ang machines na rentahan ng Comelec kasama ang iba pang collaterals.
Nauna nang binanggit ng Comelec na target nitong palitan ang 97,000 vote counting machines na may ACMs sa pamamagitan ng kanilang proposed Fully Automated System with Transparency, Audit and Count (FASTrAC) para sa 2025 polls. (Jocelyn Tabangcura-Domenden)
