Comelec needs P200 million to hold special polls in Dasmariñas, Cavite
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will need around P200 million for the special elections in the lone district of Dasmariñas, Cavite following the expulsion of former Rep. Kiko Barzaga from the House of Representatives.
Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia on Wednesday said this was discussed in the regular session of the Comelec en banc, where he said they acknowledged the difficulty of where they will source the funds.
He admitted that the Comelec does not have funds for the special elections, given that the poll body was not expecting to hold this political exercise.
“Based on our initial estimate, the Comelec will spend P200 million for the conduct of elections in the lone district of Dasmariñas, Cavite,” Garcia told reporters in an interview.
READ: Comelec may hold Dasmariñas, Cavite special polls on Aug. 22 or 29
He noted that the poll body will need such big amount for the elections as there are a total of 437,730 registered voters in the district.
The poll body will need to pay for honoraria of teachers who will be serving as electoral board members.
Aside from these expenses, he said that they will have to prepare and deploy materials given that the special elections are manual in nature.
He also said that the special elections cannot be held simultaneously with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on November 2, 2026, given that the polls must be held not earlier than 60 days and not later than 90 days after the vacancy from the post.
“We asked where we will get the funds, and we said that we may realign from our budget. At the same time, we will see if we can source from our savings, if there are any savings left,” Garcia noted.
“But what we will do, we will once again write to the honorable president, and at least to the Department of Budget and Management, if they can provide us a contingency fund for the conduct of the special elections,” he added.
READ: DBM, Comelec argue over funds for Antipolo polls
Garcia then explained that the poll body cannot extract from its allocated budget for the Bangsamoro parliamentary polls and the BSKE to fund the special elections.
He said that while they are given 60 to 90 days to hold the elections, he said that they should be given enough resources.
He also recalled the special elections in the second district of Antipolo City last March 14 where the poll body already spent around P98 million, with around 200,000 registered voters.
Garcia estimated that P11 million fund for the recall or special elections is not enough, emphasizing that the poll body has no control over the eventuality of the elections.
“To our executive and legislative [branches], we hope that you don’t remove the budget allocated for that. Because even if it is for standby, it is important to hold these kinds of elections,” he said. /apl
