Sen. Francis Tolentino believes that it is time to overhaul the country’s electoral system as he stressed that piecemeal amendments to the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) will “not suffice” anymore.
The senator, in a radio interview on Saturday, said the introduction of piecemeal provisions to the OEC should no longer be pursued as he renewed his call for hybrid elections.
While quick and fast results are desirable, which automated transmissions can provide, Tolentino said people also believe that a transparent counting process should also exist side by side with automation.
He said new technology should be taken into consideration in amending the OEC to make future national and local elections more efficient.
When asked what specific improvements can still be pursued, Tolentino said there is a need to help “millions of Filipino seafarers who should not be disenfranchised.”
The senator said seafarers were not able to vote since their polling stations were quite far from their port or from where their ship had docked.
He cited as an example the seafarers whose ship had docked in Rotterdam and who needed to travel to The Hague, Switzerland to vote. “So it was quite far.”
“The same thing probably happens in Hong Kong. You still need to go to our consulates,” Tolentino added.