THE House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms has formed a technical working group (TWG) that will finalize the bills seeking to give advance voting privileges to senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and those required to work during election day, such as lawyers and teachers.
The TWG will work on the following bills: House Bill 45 by Deputy Speaker and Marikina City Second District Rep. Romero Quimbo, authorizing the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to establish precincts assigned to accessible polling places, exclusively for PWDs and senior citizens; HB 743 by Rep. Emmline Y. Aglipay-Villar (Partylist-Diwa), providing for qualified early voting for senior citizens, PWDs, and workers required to work on election day; HB 1371, providing for local absentee voting for lawyers, HB 1372, providing for local absentee voting for PWDs, and HB 1373, providing for local absentee voting for senior citizens by Rep. Angelina “Helen” D.L. Tan (Fourth District, Quezon); HBs 2486 and 2487, providing for local absentee voting for senior citizens and PWDs respectively, by Reps. Estrellita B. Suansing (First District, Nueva Ecija) and Horacio P. Suansing Jr. (Second District, Sultan Kudarat); and HB 4539, providing for early voting for the national and local elections, by Rep. Maximo B. Rodriguez Jr. (Second District, Cagayan de Oro City).
The committee, chaired by Rep. Sherwin N. Tugna (Partylist-CIBAC), tasked the TWG to study the bills and recommend how to minimize or avoid the disenfranchisement of registered voters, namely senior citizens, PWDs and those assigned to work during election day, such as lawyers and teachers.
Tan said she refiled her three bills because these were not tackled during the 16th Congress.
“I hope these will be passed this time and enacted into law,” Tan said.
Quimbo said the 2016 elections is the new benchmark for having the best elections in the country. But what must be addressed is really the disenfranchisement of senior citizens as well as PWDs, particularly in Metro Manila.
Quimbo said he personally saw most voting precincts designated for senior citizens and PWDs, such as public school buildings, are four- or five-story high.
“I have personally seen that. And the data will show that in terms of turnout, while senior citizens are approximately almost 15 percent of the total voting population, quite a great number of them, in fact, did not turn out,” Quimbo said.
Quimbo said Comelec data showed there are 318,013 PWDs and 6.695 million senior citizens registered to vote during the May 2016 elections.
“After the 23 percent low voter turnout of these two sectors during the 2013 midterm elections, there was a clamor for disability inclusivity in the elections. Thus, the past administration enacted Republic Act 10366, which mandates the Comelec to establish accessible polling places [APPs] exclusively for PWDs and the elderly,” Quimbo said.
Despite said law, Quimbo said Mia Esteban, aged 74 , and Josefa Basarde, 65, waited in line under the heat of the sun for three hours to vote at the designated emergency APPs at the President Corazon Aquino Elementary School in Batasan Hills, Quezon City during the May 2016 polls.
“Through HB 45, which seeks to amend Republic Act 10366, or “An Act Authorizing The Commission On Elections To Establish Precincts Assigned To Accessible Polling Places Exclusively For Persons With Disabilities And Senior Citizens”, and improve the voting experience of the vulnerable sector by assigning an earlier voting day for the elderly and the PWDs, the voting process will be expedited, streamlined and convenient,” Quimbo said.
The bill mandates the Comelec to designate an APP within the premises of the municipal or city hall exclusively for senior citizens and PWDs. Under RA 10366, an APP is the venue where the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) conducts election-related proceedings and where the voters cast their votes. The APP shall be located at the ground floor, preferably near the entrance of the building, and is free of any physical barriers and provided with necessary services, including assistive devices.
Suansing said suffrage is one of the people’s most fundamental rights and the hallmark of the country’s democracy. “Thus, all barriers to exercise this right must be minimized or eliminated. The elderly and PWDs are susceptible to encountering these barriers. Many of them are unable to vote simply because they do not have the ability to travel to voting precincts, thus, laws should be enacted to eliminate the barriers we face to exercise this right,” said Suansing.