2023 BSKE
Assessment Report

Read the Executive Summary of the Assessment Report Below:

Overview of LENTE’s 2023 BSKE Monitoring

‍In view of the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), the Legal Network for Truthful Elections deployed 1,000 volunteers from its 45 law school chapters, 8 Tayo Na! Collaboratory (TN!C) for Young Leaders of Democracy coalitions and 50 partner organizations in selected areas covering 17 regions nation-wide.LENTE’s monitoring efforts for the 2023 BSKE focused on the following aspects: a) vulnerable sector voting, i.e. the voting of Persons with Disability (PWD), Senior Citizens/Older Persons, Indigenous Peoples (IP), and Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL); b) COMELEC’s innovations for the 2023 BSKE which includes Early Voting Hours in Naga City and Muntinlupa City, Mall Voting in selected malls in the National Capital Region (NCR), Cebu Province, and Legazpi City; c) pilot-testing of the Automated Election System (AES) for the BSKE in Dasmariñas City and Quezon City; d) KatutuVOTE - an initiative which enhances engagement of Indigenous Peoples from Mindoro, Bulacan, and Palawan in the 2023 BSKE and e) incidents of Abuse of State Resources in elections (ASR) wherein incumbent candidates for Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan use government resources in their campaign, resulting to an unfair advantage against their fellow candidates. 

‍Findings

‍LENTE’s findings are primarily based on the reports received from its volunteer monitors during the election period. These findings are categorized according to electoral standards, namely: a) Safety, b) Accountability, c) Transparency, and d) Inclusiveness. All of these combined are used to assess whether or not public confidence in the elections is observed. Observations regarding election day procedures and voting in the BARMM are also included in this report.The findings categorized under the Safety standard are related to observations of whether or not COVID-19 Protocols were followed during election day, and if Isolated Polling Places (IPPs) were still set up and used in voting centers. Aside from the health aspect of safety, the report also provides findings related to the physical safety of voters during the election period, i.e. whether or not citizens were harmed during the exercise of their right to suffrage. Findings and reports involving election violations, incidents of vote-buying, vote-selling, and abuse of state resources in elections, manner of addressing such incidents, and other related matters can be found under the section for Accountability. Meanwhile, observations related to citizens’ access to information crucial to their electoral participation as well as the Commission on Elections’ collaborations and partnerships with stakeholders are categorized under Transparency.Reports and updates regarding projects aimed to increase the level of participation from vulnerable sectors are found under Inclusiveness. The same includes reports received regarding Accessible Polling Places, Emergency Accessible Polling Places, Satellite-Emergency Accessible Polling Places, and Special Polling Places. Findings regarding the result of the pilot-testing of innovations during the 2023 BSKE such as the Early Voting Hours, Mall Voting, and use of Automated Election System are also present in the report. 

‍Policy Recommendations

‍Similar with the findings of this report, the Policy Recommendations are also divided based on the electoral standards. In relation to Safety, LENTE recommends the development of a contingency plan for implementing health and safety protocols in the event of future health emergencies. Further, there is also a need to strengthen the enforcement of the ban on the bearing, carrying, or transporting of firearms or deadly weapons during the election period to mitigate physical harm. Additionally, COMELEC should reassess its parameters for Areas of Concern and COMELEC-controlled areas, and refine its risk assessment procedures to incorporate the distinct local political contexts that can impact the security dynamics throughout the electoral period.In view of Accountability, it must be ensured that elections are held periodically pursuant to the guidelines provided by the Supreme Court in the case of Macalintal v. COMELEC. The Commission’s capacity to hold election violators accountable must also be enhanced and its aggressive stance against the same, as exhibited by the Committee on Kontra-Bigay against vote-buying and vote-selling, must continue in future elections. Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms should also be explored in future barangay and SK elections to ensure accessibility of accountability mechanisms to stakeholders, especially candidates and their supporters.  Meanwhile, with respect to the standard of Transparency, the COMELEC’s current strategies to deliver electoral information to the public should be further developed to reach an even wider set of electorate. COMELEC field offices should be mandated to have their own official online accounts and their election officers should be trained on how to maximize the online space for their election work. An increase in the involvement of civil society organizations and other stakeholders is also necessary in the development and enhancement of electoral innovations. Moreover, enhancing and continuously implementing COMELEC E-Rallies in future elections is recommended to promote more equal opportunities to candidates and make information more accessible to the public, especially vulnerable sectors. Lastly, for the country’s election to be Inclusive, policies involving anti-dynasty provisions and vulnerable sector voting must be revisited. Ensuring the adherence of citizens in the anti-dynasty provision of the SK Reform Act provides opportunity for other interested and abled individuals to run for office. On the other hand, policies aimed to increase the level of electoral participation of voters from the vulnerable sector must be reviewed vis-a-vis their implementation.