MALACAÑANG on Thursday, January 31, allayed the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines's (CBCP) fear of a possible "no-election" scenario in 2019.

In a Palace press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo guaranteed that the local and national elections scheduled on May 13, 2019 would push through.

Panelo issued the statement after the Catholic prelates' warning against alleged move to suspend the conduct of the midterm elections because of the House of Representatives' "vague" version of the proposed federal constitution.

"There is no connection with that. I cannot see any connection," the Palace official said.

In a statement uploaded on CBCP's website on Wednesday, January 30, the Catholic bishops told the public to pay attention to the "threat" of the House's proposed federal charter.

The CBCP claimed that the House version of federalism would "do away with the 2019 elections."

"We denounce any attempt to avoid the elections. This right of the people to vote should not be shelved," it said.

"Let us be vigilant in what is happening. Let us not just be on-lookers but let us be involved," it added.

Panelo, however, downplayed the CBCP's warning.

He said there was no attempt to foil this year's polls, as President Rodrigo Duterte himself said that he would ensure a "clean, honest, and credible" elections.

"The President said there will be elections and it will be clean, honest and credible," Panelo said. (SunStar Philippines)