In 2010, we will be rolling out an automated election system that will be the culmination of more than a decade of yearning and fervent prayer. It will be a historical event and more than anyone else, we – you and I – will be right there when it happens.
Unfortunately, the way the law now stands, I will probably get to cast my vote, but you will not.
I, as a government official performing election-related duties will have the privilege of casting my vote early and so, despite the fact that I will have time to visit my precinct on election day, my voice will still be heard when the time comes to choose the next Mayor of my city, the next Congressman of my district, and of course, the next President of my country.
You, on the other hand, private individuals reporting on the elections, delivering news and information to millions of interested Filipinos, providing an invaluable service to the nation by recording the triumphs as well as the failings of automation… your voices won’t count in deciding who sits as the next Chief Executive.
We, in the Commission on Elections, question the finality of this state of affairs.
You know, you are not the only ones who are facing this problem. We received a letter from the Philippine Jaycees Senate Advocacy Committee stating that there are more than 400,000 blue guards on duty on Election Day securing the premises of residential and business establishments. They are requesting that they be allowed to vote through absentee voting or by allowing them on their day-off duty to vote in polling places designated by the COMELEC.
While we understand why the law is the way it is, we also can not deny that the way it is -simply is not fair. Reporting on the conduct of elections, recording the events as they unfold so that we can learn from them in the future, is an activity that is imbued with at least as much public interest as working in a desk in some government office.
Thus, if the law says that government officials performing public functions get the privilege to vote under the local absentee voting system, why can journalists who perform a function so deeply invested with public interest, not be extended the same privilege?
And so, as I said, we do not consider this matter settled with any sort of finality.
One of the most important functions of the COMELEC is to propose amendments to existing election laws and rules. Today’s discussion will be a very crucial part of our exercise of that integral function.
As we solicit your views and share our own, therefore, it is my great hope that we do so with open minds and hopeful spirits.
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the COMELEC.
