MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday said the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) would be manual nationwide except for some areas in Cavite and Quezon City.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said 2 barangays in Dasmariñas, Cavite and the whole District 6 of Quezon City would hold automated elections on Oct. 30.

"Lahat sa buong bansa manual," said Garcia on Radyo 630.

"Wala namang budget na binigay sa atin para sa pag-a-automate ng barangay and SK elections. Walang budget," he said, when asked why the polls would not be wholly automated.

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Garcia was "sure" the elections in 2025 would be fully automated, as this was based on the law.

Comelec was also hoping to buy thousands of new vote counting machines before the midterm elections in 2025, so they could use these during the barangay and SK elections that time.

Garcia said they already printed all ballots for the polls, and they are ironing out issues following the land dispute in Taguig and Makati.

"Talaga bang pinal na ang desisyon ng Korte Suprema, kailangan ba yan ay dapat maipatupad? Yun ang hinihintay namin gayong nalalapit na ang filing ng certificate of candidacy natin," he said.

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The poll body earlier this week held a successful test runs of the automated elections.

SHORTER TERM

The Comelec chief said the Supreme Court decision declaring the law postponing the BSKE to this year as unconstitutional also complicated some matters.

This made the term of the elected SK and village officials shorter, he said, and they have yet to prepare a budget proposal for the automated elections on 2025.

"Ang problem, lalabas dahil sa desisyon na yan ng Korte Suprema, dalawa ang halalan na gagawin ng Comelec. Yung midterm elections ng Mayo ng 2025 at yung election ng barangay and SK ng December 2025," he said.

RA 11935, signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. in October last year, moved the schedule of the polls from December 5, 2022 to the last Monday of October 2023, supposedly to create savings amounting to billions of pesos.

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