THE Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Spokesperson, Atty. John Rex Laudiangco announced that the canvassing and proclamation for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) have been completed nationwide at 100%.
Laudiangco earlier mentioned that they were only waiting for the canvassing results from one barangay, Barangay Naguma in Calbayog City, which had been delayed due to an incident on October 30 and 31.
There were reports of harassment by an unidentified group, resulting in the postponement of the election in that barangay. However, as of 1:30 PM on November 1, the winning candidates in Barangay Naguma, Calbayog City, have been proclaimed.
As a result, COMELEC confirmed that canvassing and proclamation proceedings for all 42,000+ barangays across the country have been successfully completed.
The election body expressed their gratitude to the Department of Education (DepEd), Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and other partner agencies, as well as to the Filipino people for the successful election.
COMELEC targets complete distribution of honoraria to teachers involved in BSKE 2023
In terms of the distribution of honoraria to teachers and electoral board members, Laudiangco stated that they began the process on election day.
‘‘Because those electoral boards who were able to finish early and submit their election returns to the barangay board of canvassers and return the ballot boxes to the custody of our municipal and City Treasurer’s Offices were immediately visited by our election officers, or they came to our office, and the distribution and payouts of honoraria began,’’ according to Atty. John Rex Laudiangco, Spokesperson, COMELEC.
COMELEC expects to complete the distribution of honoraria to teachers and electoral board members as soon as possible.
They aim to complete this process within the week.
‘‘Although the Election Service Reform Act allows us 15 days or until November 14 to provide honoraria to our teachers, as a sign of respect and recognition of the heroism of our teachers, we are expediting this process, and we will do our best to complete the distribution of their honoraria within this week,’’ Atty. Laudiangco stated.
27 cases of vote buying filed; 46 more cases to be filed in the coming days—COMELEC
Regarding the issue of vote buying, Laudiangco revealed that, as of October 31, 27 cases related to vote buying have been filed. Furthermore, COMELEC plans to file an additional 46 cases in the coming days.
‘‘There are 154 cases currently under review with strong evidence, and the Committee on Anti-Vote Buying is preparing to file charges against those involved in vote buying,’’ Atty. Laudiangco said.
Over 300 cases filed due to illegal, premature campaigning—COMELEC
Laudiangco stated that over 300 cases have been filed regarding those who committed illegal and premature campaigning from August 28 until the day of the election.
He also reminded that COMELEC still has the authority to disqualify or remove from office those who won the election but were proven to have violated the law.
