MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday welcomed the approval of its PHP11.8-billion budget by the Senate Finance Subcommittee A, even as it flagged the need for additional support to meet the demands of the 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
During the hearing, Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had trimmed their original PHP18.07-billion proposal by PHP6.22 billion, leaving the agency with limited resources to prepare for the polls.
“Yung na-propose po naming budget, nabawasan ng more or less 6 billion pesos… kaya ang matitira na lang sa amin ay PHP9.5 billion (Our proposed budget was reduced by around PHP6 billion… so only PHP9.5 billion will remain available to us),” Garcia said.
He noted that the funding gap comes as voter registration continues to surge. A 10-day registration drive recently added 2.8 million voters, and with registration set to resume until July 2026, the electorate is expected to grow by another 1.4 million, bringing the total to about 99 million.
This increase, Garcia said, will require the creation of 10,000 additional precincts and the hiring of 30,000 more electoral board members, on top of costs for training, logistics, and ballot printing.
Despite the shortfall, the panel chaired by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, endorsed the Comelec budget for plenary consideration.
Tulfo supported the agency’s appeal for more resources, stressing that poll workers, particularly teachers, must be adequately compensated and elections should not be compromised by lack of funding.
The Comelec said its total requirement for the 2026 BSKE is PHP15.9 billion, which includes honoraria for nearly one million teachers and other poll workers. (PNA)