The Lower House of Congress has already approved in the third and final hearing House Bill 9562, which stipulates ‘early voting’ of senior citizens and ‘persons with disabilities (PWDs).’
Senior Citizen Party-list Rep. Rodolfo “Ompong” Ordanes said the law’s approval is a big deal for seniors and PWDs who do not have to crowd in large numbers on election day.
“On behalf of the millions of senior citizens, as well as the millions more PWD citizens, I thank all my colleagues in the House of Representatives for approving on third and final reading House Bill 9562 allowing early voting for seniors and PWDs in national and local elections,” said Ordanes.
Under Section 2 of HB 9562, qualified senior citizens and PWDs will be allowed to vote in designated voting precincts by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) seven days before the actual election.
Despite this, Ordanes is aware that there is a lack of time under the ‘legislative calendar’ and ‘timetable’ of the Comelec in addition to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19. But he said he prays that HB 9562 will become law before May 2022.
“I will do my best to convince the Senators to support this bill in their chamber,” Ordanes added, who is also the Chairman of the Committee on Senior Citizens.
House approves Early Voting Bill on senior citizens, PWDs
“Perhaps Malacañang can deem it necessary to make HB 9562 a certified urgent bill. I can only hope and pray. I still believe in miracles,” he added.
In case it is not on time, Ordanes said the Comelec has existing rules for the welfare of seniors and PWDs. Here he appeals to the Comelec to make the upcoming elections in May 2022 easier for seniors and PWDs based on existing government rules.
Meanwhile, the Filipino Alliance for Transparency and Empowerment (FATE) has asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to ensure the integrity of the company that will supply quality indelible ink to be used for Election2022.
Jo Perez, the spokesperson of FATE, said the Comelec needs to be careful in selecting the contractor to infiltrate the low-grade indelible ink that could be used in fraud in the upcoming national and local elections.
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