A Comelec official said Thursday that President Rodrigo Duterte and Congress may decide to postpone the 2022 general election if the pandemic situation does not improve until then.
Commission on Elections Chairman Sheriff Abas said this during the House budget hearing where Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo asked whether Comelec has considered such a scenario by then.
“Come elections, I’m sure that if there is no vaccine yet, there will be so many contaminations during that [election] day,” he said.
“Has the thought that you’ll propose to postpone elections, has that triggered in your minds?”
Abas said this has not been considered since the election is a constitutional mandate.
Arroyo added that concerned agencies should recommend any possible poll postponement to avoid speculation that incumbent officials would just like to extend their terms.
Abas said they will assess how the pandemic will turn out and whether this will affect the elections.
“It is a call of both chamber of the House and the President but rest assured titingnan namin ang kanyang mungkahi (we will look into his suggestion),” he said.
