Drilon nixes possibility of postal voting in Philippines: Not at this time

The Philippines is not yet ready to have a voting by mail system in the upcoming 2022 elections, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Monday.

"Our current system simply does not permit voting by mail as a process that will accurately reflect the will of the people," Drilon said in an online interview.

"I am opposed to it at this time. We can look at it again in the future and see whether our system is already sufficient in terms of protecting the sanctity of the ballots," he added.

The minority leader underscored that "rampant vote buying and intimidation" are still observed in the present electoral system in the country where only personal voting is allowed.

"You can imagine the kinds of complaints we will get in voting by mail where it is difficult to monitor," he said.

Drilon said his position remains even on the proposal of Senator Imee Marcos to create a postal voting system only for voters who are senior citizens, pregnant, persons with disabilities, or members of indigenous groups.

"Every vote counts," he said.

Marcos, on the other hand, said that while it is not locally being practiced, postal voting is "not a completely alien notion" under our laws as it is being done by overseas Filipino workers.

Earlier in the day, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he is not in favor of having mail-in ballots in the upcoming polls as these are vulnerable to "cheating."

Talks about voting by mail were brought to the fore as the US recently held its elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the US, voters who cast their ballots by mail had to send them before the deadlines set by their respective states. These are submitted through postal mail, ballot drop boxes, or in person at local election offices.

The COVID-19 situation prompted a surge in the number of mail-in ballots this year as many US citizens avoided going to polling stations, according to international reports.—AOL, GMA News