THE Commission on Elections said Friday it will most likely extend the voting period to 12 hours to accommodate the printing of voter receipts during the May 9 elections.
In an interview, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said they plan to start the voting period at 6 a.m. and finish by 6 p.m. to give all registered voters a chance to cast their votes.
“We want to take advantage of light. As much as possible, we want voting to be finished while there is still daylight,” Bautista said, adding that they are open on extending the hours beyond 6 p.m. if needed.
Previously, the Comelec had set the voting period from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Comelec said it would comply with the Supreme Court order that it issue printed voter receipts in response to a petition by former senator Richard Gordon.
During the oral arguments before the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, reprsenting the Comelec, said that it would take 20 voting hours to print the voter receipts.
But the justices threw out the Comelec’s motion for reconsideration Thursday.
During the special en banc meeting on Friday, Bautista said the commissioners have already discussed the specifications for the purchase of 100,000 round edge scissors and 93,000 boxes for the printed receipts.
The poll chief said that they are allocating P1.2 million for the scissors and P28 million for the receptacles.
He said the scissors would be needed to cut out the printed receipts so that the machines would not suffer a paper jam and shut down.
The Comelec has issued a resolution inviting all prospective suppliers to join the public bidding for the purchase of 1.1-million thermal paper rolls with a budget allocation of P85.8 million or P78 per roll.
With the issuing of the printed receipts, the Comelec might do away with on-screen verification, Bautista added.
Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged the Comelec to dismiss all talk about a postponement or a return to manual voting, and said there was no time to waste in complying with the Supreme Court order.
“The Supreme Court’s swift action on this crucial issue is laudable. Now that these issues have been settled the Comelec should stop floating scenarios that would cast doubt on the integrity and credibility of the coming elections,” Marcos said.
Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez also urged the Comelec to uphold the law and refrain from making any statement that would undermine the timely and credible conduct of the May 9 elections.
“It should now work on activating the security features of VCMs as these would further strengthen the country’s democracy,” Romualdez said. With Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz
