MANILA – According to Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia, the government could save approximately P13 billion by conducting the planned plebiscite on Charter change alongside the May 2025 midterm elections.
Garcia mentioned in an interview with reporters that similar to barangay elections, a nationwide plebiscite would necessitate around P13 billion in funding.
“But if you do them (plebiscite and midterm elections) at the same time, there will be no additional expenses, but we may have to give P2,000 more each to teachers assigned to poll duties,” Garcia said.
Garcia highlighted that having at least one million teachers serve in synchronized elections would necessitate an additional allocation of P2 billion.
He emphasized that the Comelec’s legal department, based on its study results, had determined that there was no legal obstacle to synchronizing the plebiscite with the midterm elections.
Additionally, Garcia maintained that the poll body’s legal department stated that a previous Supreme Court ruling did not explicitly prohibit holding a plebiscite concurrently with the national elections.
He also emphasized the necessity of a large-scale information campaign to enhance public awareness of what they would be voting for and the ramifications of their decisions.
Garcia mentioned that the Comelec has developed a sample ballot featuring potential questions in a plebiscite, without incurring extra costs.
However, he admitted his preference for holding a plebiscite separately to ensure that voters are adequately informed about the issues surrounding Cha-cha.
Garcia mentioned that the poll body is already making preparations for it.
In the meantime, over 600,000 young and new voters have registered and indicated their intention to take part in the May 2025 national and local elections.
The Comelec reported that 643,987 applications for registration have been submitted since the voter registration resumed on February 12.
According to Comelec data, CALABARZON recorded the highest number of applicants with 115,167, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) with 95,557.
Central Luzon secured the third position with 68,676 registrations, followed closely by Central Visayas with 51,199, and Davao Region with 36,937.
Conversely, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) had the lowest number of applications with 7,598, followed by Mimaropa with 15,602, and Cagayan Valley with 19,324.
In the Comelec main office in Intramuros, a total of 694 applications for voter registration were filed.
