LEADERS of the House of Representatives on Saturday voiced concern over the Commission on Elections’ proposal to hold elections inside malls, citing security risks both for voters and to election ballots.
House Majority Leader and Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales Jr. thinks it’s not a good idea that major malls in the country will be tapped as polling places for next year’s elections.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Gonzales told The Standard in a text message. “We might have a hard time monitoring, especially in local elections,” Gonzales said.
For instance in Mandaluyong, Gonzales said there are about 1,000 voting precincts. “Will voters be allowed to vote in any of the precincts in the mall?” he asked.
Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro, chairman of the House committee on electoral reforms and suffrage, echoed Gonzales’ concern, saying “malls are crowded places” and so “control is hard and difficult.”
Castro stressed that holding elections in malls would give unscrupulous elements an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
“Malls, being crowded, there is a possibility of co-mingling between voters and non-voters. In fact, election operators could easily mingle with voters who could easily employ all forms of fraudulent election practices and maneuvers,” Castro told The Standard.
“Unless, however, there are compelling reasons to transfer voting precincts in malls, I am not disposed to support the plan,” Castro added.
Castro said the idea of the Comelec “will entail another plan and effort which will be purely experimental being one of first impression.”
“We cannot afford to gamble the outcome of our election on something that has not been tested,” Catsro said.
Reps. Ben Evardone of Easter Samar, Albee Benitez of Negros Occidental and Gus Tambunting of Paranaque also said the plan of the Comelec to hold elections in malls should be opposed.
But Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III said he sees nothing wrong with the Comelec proposal so long as all contingency measures and security plans are in place.
“That is the best place for voting. Malls are air-conditioned and very comfortable for our people,” Albano, House contingent head for the Minority Bloc of the Commission on Appointments, said.
Benitez said “the air-conditioned environment definitely appeals to the voters… But what about the security?” he asked.
Evardone said such a proposal of the Comelec should be studied carefully to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
“Malls are business establishments that require permits from [local government units], so there is a possibility that the mall owners might be biased in favor of an incumbent local official,” Evardone said. “There should be caution before this policy is adopted,” Evardone added.
Tambunting, for his part, proposed that the voting be held in government offices. “Most malls are privately owned, sometimes by politicians themselves or their relatives or associates. And there can be no assurance that the owners will not be influenced by partisan motives,” Tambunting pointed out.
