NOT just the main office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) but also those in the field must have stand alone spaces.
This was the call of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente), as it urged the poll body to also advocate for separate offices for those in cities, municipalities, and provinces.
"We call on the Comelec to also advocate for its field office to have their own office space and to hire its own personnel," said Lente.
"Include in their lobbying and advocacy campaign the similar needs of our Comelec field offices to ensure its independence," it added.
The poll watchdog said this is because allowing local governments to continuously have a role in the Comelec's operations makes it difficult for the latter to be fully independent from the former.
Section 55 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) states that the local government unit (LGU) concerned shall provide a suitable place for the Comelec field offices.
"The LGUs stake in election administration lamentably acts as a sword of Damocles, and subjects the local Comelec to the imminent and ever-present peril of lack of office space, manpower complement, and funding for its operations," said Lente.
"Clearly, the independence of Comelec is affected by this existing legal framework," it added.
Lente said it is banking on Comelec Chairman George Garcia to actively advocate for independent field offices similar to what he is doing for the commission's main office.
"For the past few months, we have seen Chairman Garcia actively advocating for Comelec to have its own office space. We welcome and support this advocacy of Chairman Garcia," it said.
Similarly, the group urged members of the 19th Congress to help ensure the passage of such a measure into law.
"We call on our legislators in the Senate and the House of Representatives to establish a robust and independent Comelec," said Lente. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)