De Lima cautions peers: Be vigilant against ‘dangerous’ amendments during bicam

Detained opposition Senator Leila de Lima on Monday warned her colleagues who will be taking part in the bicameral conference talks with the House of Representatives to watch for any attempt to undermine the sanctity of the 2022 elections.

Reacting to reports that “someone at the Senate” was allegedly trying to insert a provision to waive election procurement safeguards, De Lima said: “Anyone who seeks to steal our elections is an enemy to our people and our democracy.”

“I was told that last night, it circulated over the social media that someone from the Senate is attempting to insert a provision in the national budget to give COMELEC the authority to waive the safeguards for the procurement of equipment and materials under Section 12 of the Automated Election Law, as amended,” said the former election lawyer.

“There is NO EXCUSE for COMELEC not to undergo regular procurement,” De Lima said.

“If they cannot do their job, they have no business running a most crucial institution. They better just resign. Any attempts at negotiated procurement for election equipment can only be seen as negotiating the elections itself,” she said.

“I urge my colleagues in the bicameral panel to be vigilant against any dangerous amendments like this. I pray for my colleagues’ success for the sake of our country,” De Lima said.

“Our elections are sacrosanct to our democracy. And COMELEC should resist any attempts by anyone to undermine its credibility, NO MATTER WHO APPOINTED THEM,” she said.

On Sunday, election lawyer Emil Marañon alleged that “someone at the Senate” was trying to insert a provision in the 2021 spending bill to waive the election procurement safeguards.

“Someone at the Senate is now attempting to insert a provision in the GAA giving COMELC a carte blanche authority to waive/disregard all the requirements and safeguards in Section 12 of the Automated Election Law (RA 8436 as amended by RA 9369). THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS,” Marañon said.

“With this, COMELEC can now adopt an untested new system or it can waive all safeguards, mandatory tests, certifications, review by political parties and election watch dogs, among others. If this happen, the upcoming election can no longer be trusted,” he said.

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