The appeal of the COMELEC’s of having its own building will be considered by the House Committee on Appropriations while Chairman Co will also look into helping COMELEC’s protection of its databases.
The chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Rep. Elizaldy S. Co, said he is open to the appeal of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for the building of its own headquarters.
Currently, COMELEC’s main office is at Palacio del Gobernador. Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros Administration, COMELEC and another in the Home Development Mutual Fund National Capital Region (NCR) Office.
Co said that the committee has noted the impassioned appeal of the COMELEC Chair (Erwin M. Garcia) which has gained support from their colleagues in the House.
“We will consult with the entire leadership on this matter” Co assured.
The House Committee on Appropriations would also examine the suggested budget items of COMELEC that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) did not include in the National Expenditure Program for 2023.
Co specifically took interest in helping COMELEC to protect its information and communications technology systems as well as their databases.
It is most important to keep a close eye on COMELEC’s technology system especially since it contains sensitive information of millions of Filipinos. The avoidance of private data leak and exploiting the vulnerability of both the voter’s registration data and functionality of COMELEC’s website is something that Co would want to help protect most for all Filipinos.
The matter of making election inspectors' honoraria tax-free will be studied further considering that in the 18th Congress, the House enacted House Bill 9652 on the third and final reading, exempting election honoraria, allowances, and benefits from income taxation.
The House Ways and Means Committee will look into this matter given that the house bill was vetoed last July 29.
Tags: #COMELEC. #Appropriations, #Data