CAMPAIGN TRAIL

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said that the scheduled configuration of the official ballots and the precinct count optical scan, or PCOS machines on Friday will push through sans the rulings of the Supreme Court on the disqualified party-list groups.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said that the poll body will have to follow their own timeline, thus, waiting for the court ruling is not necessary.

“We will just push through. We cannot wait any longer,” Brillantes said.

The Comelec is scheduled to start the configuration on Friday, January 11. This will include the list of
candidates, number of registered voters and precinct numbers.

“That’s why we are hoping to have to finish all of these already,” the poll chief said.

On Tuesday, the tribunal had ordered the Comelec to comment on the petitions filed by party-list groups questioning their disqualifications by the poll body.

The commission was required to comment within a nonextendable period of five days, according to the High Tribunal.

To date, 52 groups that were earlier disqualified by the poll body have already been issued status quo ante orders by the Supreme Court, including 39 previously existing party-list groups that have canceled accreditation and 13 new applicants denied by the commission.

The orders resulted the inclusion of 39 organizations in the recently held raffle on ballot placing, along with the 84 groups allowed by the Comelec to run.

The poll body had been hoping for the immediate resolution of the appeals of the disqualified groups so it can determine which groups should just be included in the official ballots.