NG needs ₧17.5B more to ‘Covid-proof’ polls

THE national government needs an additional P17.5 billion to Covid-proof the upcoming May 2022 Presidential elections, according to the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) School of Government.

In a working paper titled, “Covid-proofing the 2022 Philippine Presidential Elections,” ADMU’S Angelito Niño P.C Verzosa, Almiera Mae S. Calicdan, Ronald U. Mendoza, Jess Paul M. Pasibe, and Raisa Neith G. Salvador said Covidproofing the elections is needed to make the exercise safe for voters.

This translates to around P175,300.90 additional expense per clustered precinct. The researchers said the estimate was based on the 800-voter cap per clustered precinct.

“The effective marriage of public health and the electoral process would require a relatively larger share of the budget. Budget is integral to the quality of elections during the pandemic,” the paper stated.

“The budget naturally increases during a pandemic due to inflation, increasing eligible voters, and the materials necessary to avoid the spread of Covid-19,” it added.

The researchers said the main expenditure items for Covid-proofing the elections include personnel services such as Voters Assistance Desks, Health Protocol Desks, a Health Declaration mechanism, and Separate Voters Precinct for voters who have symptoms of Covid-19, among others.

The expenses will also include the cost of the medical and health supply requirements per clustered precinct as well as full PPE for precincts accommodating Covid-19 suspects and antigen tests for all election officials and personnel.

The antigen testing of all election officials and staff is estimated at P100 million for 70,000 antigen testing kits. Rental cost for private sector voting centers is P1 billion for approximately 20,000 additional voting center rental payment.

The amount also covers contingency costs to Covid-proof the elections this year. These costs include Insurance and Hazard risks of election workers and officials which could reach P100 million.

“Some of these costs can be paired down with enhanced efficiency in organizing the inputs for election preparations, as Comelec coordinates with other government agencies and the local government units themselves. There are other possible costs to consider which may not necessarily fall on the government to shoulder,” the researchers said.

This paper assumed that the total number of clustered precincts for 2022 elections will be 97,345 while the total number of voting centers is estimated to be at least 36,7195 nationwide.

These additional clustered precincts are expected to hold and accommodate at most 800 voters observing physical distancing and other Covid-prevention protocols.