MANILA, Philippines — Congress may opt to canvass votes for president and vice-president separately to avoid delays in the proclamation of the next president even as it continues to entertain questions concerning discrepancies over votes for vice-president, according to 2 members of the National Board of Canvassers.  

 

In separate interviews on ANC, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Rep. Didagen Dilangalen both said this is made possible because, unlike in past elections, the Certificates of Canvass (CoCs) for president and vice-president are now contained in separate documents. 

 

‘Not many people know this but there will be two documents to be canvassed, one document, one COC (certificate of canvass) for the president and one COC for the vice president. Magkahiwalay. Dati isang dokomento lang yun pati yung senador dun,’ Zubiri said in an interview on ANC’s Headstart on Tuesday, May 25. 

 

Zubiri explained that this allows for the possibility of finishing the canvassing of votes for the president while the canvassing of votes for vice-president might be delayed. 

 

Dilangalen, who was a guest in the same show the following day, noted likewise that both documents are contained in one envelope.

 

Ferdinand Rafanan of the Commission on Election's legal division also confirmed this with abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak over the phone.

 

Zubiri told Headstart host Karen Davila that the House and the Senate foresaw in a meeting held Monday a possible early proclamation of the new president-elect, while vice president could be delayed. 

 

He cited as example a scenario where there may be no questions on the votes of the president but discrepancies might be raised with respect to the votes of the vice-president.

 

He then explained that, if this happens, the canvassing on the votes of the president could continue while the votes for the vice-president will be set aside for later evaluation.  

 

This, according to Zubiri, will allow the national board of canvassers to invite members of the provincial board of canvassers to explain discrepancies in votes. 

 

Zubiri assured, however, that any delays will certainly not go beyond June 30.  

 

 

During the show, Zubiri shared two scenarios they settled in the Monday discussion with other members of the national board of canvassers. 

 

‘Things will happen. It’s either we proclaim first whoever the president will be and just allow the VP a little bit more time for the discussion of those questionable results.’ he said. 

 

‘The second thing that could happen [is], we can ask the president after counting it all and he is already the president-elect...to [have] a little more patience so that he will have a running mate [and they will] be proclaimed together. So he will already know that he is the president-elect while waiting for the vice-presidential candidate to finish the race,’ he added.  

 

‘Hypothetically, there may be a situation wherein mauna nang mabilang ang boto ng pangulo...pero yung sa bise-presidente maaring maiwan pa dahil ide-deliberate pa natin iyon,’ he explained to the Headstart host Karen Davila. 

 

Zubiri stressed that the House and the Senate is mandated to proclaim a new president and vice-president by June 30 to avoid a ‘vacuum of power’. 

 

He said both chambers have agreed to abide by this mandate. ‘We have made a decision that really by June 30 it’s all over.’

 

The canvassing of votes will be made using provincial level COCs by 9 representatives from the Senate and 9 representatives from the House of Representatives.  

 

At a rate of 8 hours and about 30 COCs a day, the Senate and the House, according to Zubiri, will try to finish canvassing on June 15 to make the proclamation possible on the target date. - Rosemarie Caasi, abs-cbnNews.com Halalan Volunteer