2022 Philippine general election

The 2022 Philippine general election will take place on May 9, 2022, for executive and legislative branches for all levels of government – national, provincial, and local, except for the barangay officials.

At the top of the ballot will be the election for successors to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo (if she decides to run in another position). There will also be elections for (totals to date):

• 12 seats to the Senate;
• All 308 seats to the House of Representatives;
  • All 247 seats from congressional districts
  • All 61 seats elected via the party-list system
• All 81 governors and vice governors, and 780 seats to provincial boards in all provinces;
• All 1,634 mayors and vice mayors, and 13,546 seats to all city councils and municipal councils in all cities and municipalities

This day is also the expected date of the first Bangsamoro Parliament election, as the Bangsamoro Transition Authority's term ends on June 30, 2022.

Elections are organized, run, and adjudicated by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) with appeals under certain conditions allowed to the Regional Trial Courts, the Congress of the Philippines, or the Supreme Court of the Philippines sitting as the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, the Senate Electoral Tribunal, or the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

Preparation

Date of the election

The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines states that unless otherwise provided by law, the election of members of Congress is on every second Monday of May.[1] According to Republic Act No. 7166, election for national, provincial, city and municipal elections are on the second Monday of May, since 1992, and every three years thereafter, with the president and vice president being elected in six-year intervals.[2] It has been three years since the last general election of 2019 and six years since the 2016 presidential election, and with no law canceling the election to date, this means that the election is scheduled to be held on May 9, 2022.

Commission on Elections membership

For this election, all members of the Commission on Elections will be appointed by outgoing president Rodrigo Duterte. Chairman Sheriff Abas and commissioners Antonio Kho and Rowena Guanzon will serve until February 2, 2022, or just over three months before the election. Guanzon is the sole remaining commissioner appointed by former president Benigno Aquino III.[3]

Voter registration

Voter registration began on January 20, 2020, and will end on September 30, 2021. The commission expects 4.3 million voters to register. Registration was suspended in some areas in Cavite, Laguna and Batangas due the Taal Volcano eruption, in Makilala, Cotabato due to an earthquake, and in Palawan due to the plebiscite to divide it to three provinces.[4]

On March 10, the commission suspended voter registration in the entire country due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.[5] By June, the commission announced it will resume on July 1.[6] However, the commission suspended voter registration anew up to August 31.[7]

Election automation

Representative from Camarines Sur L-Ray Villafuerte proposed to use a hybrid electoral system in 2022, or manual counting of votes, then electronic transmission of results. This is in contrast to the automated counting and transmission system used since 2010. He cited 40 lawsuits on the current system used by the Commission on Elections as evidence to shift away from automated counting of votes.[8] President Rodrigo Duterte has suggested junking Smartmatic as the automation partner for future elections because of problems from the previous election.[9] However, Smartmatic still wants to participate in the future.[10]

Calendar

The Commission on Elections will publish a calendar for the upcoming election. As per the Omnibus Election Code, the Synchronized National Elections Act, and other election laws the following timetable should be observed:

• Nomination of political parties:
  • For nationally-elected positions: 165 days before election day and later
  • For locally-elected positions: 75 days before election day and later
• Campaign period
  • For nationally-elected positions: 90 days before election day, excluding the day before the election
  • For locally-elected positions: 45 days before election day, excluding the day before the election
• Filing of campaign expenses: Within 30 days after the election

Date	Activity
January 20, 2020	Start of voter registration
March 10, 2020	Suspension of voter registration nationwide due to COVID-19 pandemic
September 30, 2021	End of voter registration
May 9, 2022	Election day
June 30, 2022	Oath-taking of winners

Issues

Laura del Rosario, former Undersecretary for International Economic Affairs encouraged the public to reject "Manchurian candidates," or candidates clandestinely supported by China. Richard Heydarian, a nonresident fellow at Stratbase ADR Institute, noted that "The Duterte administration shows acquiescence does not bear fruit." Del Rosario said that to ensure that a pro-Chinese leader is elected, China may support more than one candidate in the election.[11]

See also

• 2022 Philippine barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections

References

1. "Article VI of the Constitution of the Philippines". COMELEC.gov.ph. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
2. "Republic Act No. 7166". COMELEC.gov.ph. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
3. Mangahas, Malou; Ilagan, Karol (2019-08-19). "Comelec line change: 7 Duterte appointees to run 2022 elections". pcij.org. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
4. Aquino, Leslie Ann. "Comelec: Registration for 2022 elections starts Monday". Manila Bulletin News. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
5. Tomacruz, Sofia. "Comelec suspends voter registration due to coronavirus threat". Rappler. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
6. Aquino, Leslie Ann. "Voter registration activities resume in July". Manila Bulletin News. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
7. Aquino, Leslie Ann (2020-06-20). "Comelec extends suspension of voters' registration until Aug. 31". Manila Bulletin News. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
8. Luci-Atienza, Charissa. "Hybrid electoral system proposed for May, 2022 polls". Manila Bulletin News. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
9. "Duterte says Comelec should junk Smartmatic machines". Rappler. May 30, 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
10. "Smartmatic still wants to be part of Philippine elections". Rappler. July 15, 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
11. Gotinga, JC (2020-06-10). "Experts warn of China-backed candidates in 2022 PH elections". Rappler. Retrieved 2020-06-24.