The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said it will request a budget following the call of the House of Representatives (HoR) to conduct special elections in the third district of Negros Oriental province.

This came following the HoR adoption of House Resolution (HR) No. 1212, certifying the vacancy of the seat held by former Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. who went abroad after being tagged in the killing of former Governor Roel Degamo last March.

In a Viber message, Comelec Spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said the poll body has no adequate funds for the special polls.

“Hihiling din po ang Comelec ng pondo para maisagawa po ito (The Comelec will also request for a fund to conduct this),” he told the Philippine News Agency.

“Dahil sa ngayon po ay unprogrammed po ang anumang special elections at wala pong sapat na pondo ang Comelec para po dito (Because as of now, any special election is unprogrammed and the Comelec has no adequate fund for such),” Laudiangco added.

The poll body’s Finance Services Department is yet to assess the target fund to be requested, he said.

“Wala pa po sa ngayon [estimated figure to be requested]… Isa pa po ay wala pa din pong decision ang en banc kung automated or manual elections ang isasagawa (As of now, there’s no estimated figure to be requested yet… Also, the en banc has no decision yet on whether to conduct an automated or manual elections),” Laudiangco said.

On Tuesday night, Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the earliest possible time for the special polls is by the end of the year.

He said it is no longer feasible to incorporate it in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on Oct. 30.

“We can conduct the special election the earliest is December 2023,” he added.

The HoR earlier called for the special polls after the expulsion of Teves “for disorderly behavior and violation of Section 141 (a) and (b), Rule XX of the Code of Conduct of the House of Representatives, by the requisite vote of two-thirds of all its members as provided for in the Constitution.” (PNA)