Comelec eyes Negros Oriental special elections in December

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is planning to hold the special elections in the third congressional district of Negros Oriental in the second week of December, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said on Monday.

“Kaya naman ng Commission on Elections ‘yan basta matapos lang namin itong Barangay and SK Elections ng October 30,” Garcia said in an ambush interview at Amoranto Sports Complex.

(The Commission on Elections can handle this after we finish the barangay and SK elections on October 30.)

Garcia said the Comelec already received the resolution and letter coming from the House of Representatives indicating that the seat of expelled Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves had been declared vacant and that the House was calling for special election in the district.

Garcia said the Comelec had started the computation of the total expenses that would be in the conduct of the special elections.

The printing of ballots for the special polls is expected to be completed by the end of September, he added.

On the other hand, Garcia said the poll body was set to decide in late September whether or not to postpone the 2023 Barangay and SK elections in the province.

In a coordinating conference in June, PNP Chief Benjamin Acorda Jr. said he saw no need to postpone the October 2023 BSKE.

During an earlier Senate inquiry into the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, Senators Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa and Francis Tolentino asked the poll body to look into the possibility of holding off the elections amid the political violence in the province.

The senators also cited recent surveys showing that people in Region VII are agreeable to postponing the BSKE. —NB, GMA Integrated News