MAY 4, 2016

NR # 4190

Early voting for PWDs and Senior citizens pushed

A Cebu lawmaker has stressed the need for a law mandating early voting of Senior
Citizens and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) during national and local elections.
Because of their physical conditions, PWDs and Senior citizens are being deprived
of their right of suffrage on election day, Rep. Gabriel Luis R. Quisumbing lamented,
stressing that suffrage is the lifeblood of a democracy.
He is author of the following bills under consideration by the Committee on
Suffrage and Electoral Reforms chaired by Capiz Rep. Fredenil H. Castro:
1) HB 4545 An Act providing for early voting of Senior citizens and
appropriating funds therefor or The Early Voting for Senior Citizens Act of 2014, and
2) HB 4546 An Act providing for early voting of Persons with disabilities
(PWDs) and appropriating funds therefor or The Early Voting of Persons with
Disabilities (PWDs) Act of 2014.
Quisumbing is hoping that, if not the current 16 th Congress which is vowing out on
June 10, 2016, the 17th Congress would give due course to his initiative, which are
expected to be re-filed, for the sake of the millions of Senior Citizens and PWDs.
During the 2013 national elections, news programs showed footages of people
with disabilities and senior citizens leaving polling centers because their physical
conditions cannot endure the long line and lengthy procedure they had to undergo in order
to cast their votes, Quisumbing recalled.
The author cited a constitutional provision (Article 5, Section 1) which states:
Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by
law, who are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall have resided in the Philippines
for at least one year and in the place where they propose to vote for at least six months
immediately preceding the election. No literacy, property, or other substantive
requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage.
Section 3 of HB No. 4545 provides:
Section 3. Requirements. Thirty (30) days before the election, the Commission on
Elections (COMELEC) shall implement the following:
** COMELEC shall keep a record of Senior Citizens who are registered as voters.
** COMELEC shall coordinate with the Local Government Units (LGUs), the

Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Interior and Local Government

(DILG) in designing systems and assistance to be accorded to Senior Citizens.
** COMELEC shall designate accessible polling places where Senior Citizens
may be able to cast their vote, ensuring that such polling places are provided
with the necessary mobility, communications, visual and other forms of
assistance for concerned voters.
Section 3 of HB 4546 is similar to that provided for under HB 4545, except that the
words Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are used instead of Senior Citizens, and that the
COMELEC has to coordinate with the LGUs, the National Council on Disability Affairs
(NCDA), the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the DOH and the DILG in designing
systems and assistance for concerned voters.
Both House bills provide: Those herein qualified to vote early may cast his/her
vote in the Office of the Municipal/City Election Registrar where he/she is registered
during office hours within one (1) working day before the day of the election. He/she will
be allowed to vote for as many positions available, as any other qualified voter. (30) dpt