House bill na gawing regular holiday ang national polls lusot na

MANILA, Philippines — Pinagtibay na sa Kamara ang panukalang gawing regular na non-working holiday ang national election sa bansa na naglalayong himukin ang mga kuwalipikadong Pinoy na lumahok sa halalan.

Sa botong 198-0-0 ay nakalusot sa plenaryo ang House Bill 8187.

“With this proposed legislation, we hope to get the maximum participation of our voters in the national elections which is one of the most important activities that they should do as Filipinos. The right to suffrage is guaranteed by our Constitution and we want to value and protect this right by making sure that voters would no longer worry about missing work,” pahayag ni Speaker Martin Romualdez.

“This bill will also be­nefit our kababayans who work in Metro Manila or other places and need to file for leaves just so they can travel  back to their provinces. We want to make sure that we assist them by declaring national elections as a regular holiday so they can exercise their right to vote hassle free,” dagdag pa niya.

Batay sa HB 8187, kabilang sa maituturing na national elections ang plebisito, referendum, people’s initiative, recall election, special election, regional elections, at iba pang kahalintulad na botohan na botohang pang nasyunal.

Sa kasalukuyan mayroong 12 regular holiday at dalawang nationwide special days sa ilalim ng Administrative Code.

Ang pinakahuling ge­neral polls sa bansa ay idinaos noong Mayo 9, 2022 habang ang midterm elections at susunod na presidential elections ay nakatakda sa taong 2025 at 2028.