Comelec: No plebiscite ‘til 2026 with 2 polls coming

““You cannot squeeze in a plebiscite in the middle of an election. Even prior to 2025, you cannot do that… And we cannot divert any of the funds in the possession of Comelec. That is contained in the General Appropriation Act,” Comelec chairman George Garcia said.

The poll body, he said, is preparing for the May 2025 midterm elections and the December 2025 barangay elections.

Efforts to amend the Charter through a People’s Initiative, constitutional convention, or a constituent assembly would culminate in a plebiscite.

Garcia, however, cited a Supreme Court ruling, which states that the Comelec “cannot include a plebiscite for the amendment of the constitution on a regular election.”

“If in case the constituent assembly would be able to pass this year or before the end of this year an amendment to a provision to the Constitution, unfortunately we [still] cannot hold such plebiscite in 2025. The most that we can hold that [vote] is in 2026,” Garcia said.

He said Filipinos should have “a clear mind” when voting, thus the plebiscite cannot be mixed with a regular election during the same year.

“If it’s an amendment, focus on the amendment. If it’s elections, focus on the elections. You’re not just amending a simple law – you’re amending the constitution, the very heart of our democratic processes,” he said.

Garcia earlier announced that Comelec has suspended all People’s Initiative (PI) proceedings to make way for reviewing and amending its implementing rules and regulations.

“We honestly believe, based on our initial assessment, that we have to review, enhance, or add to the existing IRR concerning PI because we think that there is something that is lacking in the guidelines,” Garcia said.

“For example, our rules on withdrawal, our rules on opposition, and the rules on notices that we need in the end to avoid problems, confusion, and misunderstandings when it comes to the interpretation of the provisions of our rules,” he added. — Vito Barcelo