Reassignment of Comelec officers under threat up to their discretion

MANILA, Philippines — It will be up to the discretion of poll officers who received threats to decide on their reassignment, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Monday

Garcia said the poll body will not stop the officers from exercising their duties.

“We will always listen to our personnel from the field. ‘Pag sila na mismo ang nagsabi na ilipat sila, definitely we are going to transfer them. Pero pag sinabing dito muna kami, we will face all the consequences, sino ba naman kami para pigilan sila?” he added.

(We will always listen to our personnel from the field. If they themselves request to be reassigned, we will definitely transfer them. But if they say they’ll stay and face all the consequences, who are we to stop them?)

Garcia previously said poll officers facing threats will be reassigned to a more convenient place to ensure their safety following the death of an election officer in Lanao del Norte who had been receiving threats after the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections in 2023.

READ: Poll officers under serious threat to be reassigned to safer areas

However, he said this policy will not be revoked and will be handled on a “case-to-case basis.”

“‘Yung mismong local Comelec, ayaw na mismong ilipat sila kahit na may natatanggap na threats dahil para sa kanila, kaduwagan ‘yun at lalo lang mananaig ‘yung mismong mga taong nananakot sa kanila,” said Garcia in an ambush interview.

(The local Comelec officers themselves do not want to be reassigned even when they receive threats because for them, it’s an act of cowardice and those threatening them will just prevail with their intentions.)

This came after a Sulu provincial election supervisor (PES) was involved in a shooting incident in Zamboanga City last Saturday. The election officer survived the armed attack, but his brother succumbed to gunshot wounds.

READ: Election officer survives ambush in Zamboanga City – Comelec chief

Garcia noted that the election officer would not be removed from his post, emphasizing that the removal would only show that the poll body was afraid of threats.

However, he said it was important for election officers receiving threats to be provided security from the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.