The Philippine Online Chronicles

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A cornerstone principle and bedrock of our 1987 Constitution is that the Philippines is a republican and democratic state. One of the hallmarks of democracy is the people’s right to vote, a basic right upon which the fabric of any democracy is founded.

Last October 29, 2009, Kabataan Partylist, together with youth leaders from various organizations, along with prospective first-time voters, went to the Supreme Court to file a petition that, if granted by the Court, would urge the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to resume the registration of voters until January 9, 2010 from its self-imposed deadline of October 31, 2009.

The petition was based on two legal arguments. First, the October 31 deadline of the COMELEC is seventy (70) days short of the deadline prescribed by law under the Voters Registration Act of 1996. Second, for effectively amending the law by setting the deadline prior to the prescribed date, COMELEC usurped the legislative power of Congress.

Beyond the legal bases, I would like to assert the conditions that make the affirmative granting of the petition imperative and urgent. In a recent press release, the COMELEC announced that they were able to accommodate 2.736 million new voter registrations for the 2010 elections. This figure falls short of the 3 million prospective new voters that COMELEC targeted a few months earlier and even farther from the 5 million prospective new voters that it targeted at the beginning of the year. In fact, the National Statistics Office, by its own calculations, estimate that there are 10 million unregistered eligible voters that should be accommodated. The lowering of its own target is itself an act of admission from the electoral body that it will be unable to accommodate all new voters within its deadline. Despite this, COMELEC insisted on imposing their earlier deadline and refused the many appeals for extension. An earlier report even claimed that the COMELEC had delisted more than 6 million voters from its registry, up to 3.4 million more than it had accommodated to register. The glaring fact is up to 7 million eligible voters were unable to register in the shortened registration period. COMELEC counters any appeal for an extension by invoking the fear of a failure of elections in light of the new automated system. Isn't the disenfranchisement of up to 7 million voters an even greater failure of elections in itself? Nowhere in the poll automation law did it say that COMELEC has been granted the prerogative to shorten the voters registration period in lieu of preparation for the automated elections. Poll automation and voter registration are major responsibilities of the Comelec and they cannot just simply drop the one in favor of the other.

Blame cannot be put entirely on Filipinos' “last minute” habit. This year witnessed a confluence of tragedies that affected voter registration: the swine flu outbreak, deaths of important personalities that spawned non-working holidays, and the massive flooding brought about by supertyphoons Ondoy and Pepeng. Moreover, the low turnout can also be attributed to the fact that the Comelec did not have adequate resources and manpower to accommodate hundreds of registrants per day.

In less than a month, the petition will have become moot and academic. By January 10, regardless of a favorable ruling by the Court, the deadline prescribed by law (120 days before day of the elections) would have lapsed and millions of prospective first-time voters would have permanently been disenfranchised for the coming elections.

The Court has proven many times that it can act swiftly on matters of national interest when legal resolution is urgent and when it wills it. I personally find no reason for the Supreme Court to delay affirming the constitutional right of suffrage to millions of Filipinos who have been injured by COMELEC's actions, or inactions for this matter. It us thus imperative for the Court to render a positive resolution to Kabataan Partylist's urgent petition at the soonest possible time, before everything else is too late.

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