Thread by @rapplerdotcom

HAPPENING NOW: The Senate committee on finance holds a hearing on the proposed 2021 budgets of the Commission on Elections, and of the Philippine Postal Corporation. | via @JCGotinga

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@JCGotinga The Comelec's proposed 2021 budget is P14.56 billion. | via @JCGotinga

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@JCGotinga The Comelec's request for P30 billion to procure new vote counting machines for the 2022 elections was denied by the Department of Budget and Management, and is not part of the agency's proposed 2021 budget. | via @JCGotinga

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@JCGotinga Comelec chairperson Sheriff Abas says the agency will just have to refurbish the machines used in the 2019 and 2016 elections. A plan to add to these machines will also have to be shelved. | via @JCGotinga

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@JCGotinga Brand new machines would of course be more reliable, but Abas says the existing ones are still in good working order. | via @JCGotinga

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@JCGotinga With this, there will be 1,000 registered voters per clustered precinct instead of the planned 800. Each clustered precinct has one vote counting machine. | via @JCGotinga

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@JCGotinga Asked about the 7-hour glitch in the 2019 elections, Abas says the delay in vote transmissions affected only a parallel secondary server, not the main server on which the results were based. Senators ask Abas to give a definitive explanation. | via @JCGotinga

@JCGotinga Abas and other Comelec officials insist there was no cheating, and give assurance that it will not happen again in the 2022 elections. | via @JCGotinga

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@JCGotinga The Comelec is looking into holding 2 to 3 days of voting in May 2022 if the COVID-19 pandemic still lingers then.

This is to allow for physical distancing at precincts and voting centers. | via @JCGotinga

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@JCGotinga This of course would entail doubling or tripling the budget for the pay of teachers working as poll precinct managers. | via @JCGotinga

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@JCGotinga Abas says hardly any overseas Filipinos are registering for overseas absentee voting in the the 2022 elections. This is even if registration posts are open in Philippine embassies and consulates in different countries. | via @JCGotinga

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