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On internet voting: Sen. Imee Marcos, presiding over the public hearing of the Finance Subcommittee I on Thursday, September 19, 2024, on the proposed 2025 budget of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), seeks enlightenment from the poll body on its plan to pursue online voting for Filipinos abroad. Marcos cited Republic Act No. (RA) 10590 which amended RA 9189 entitled An Act Providing for a System of Overseas Absentee Voting by Qualified Citizens of the Philippines Abroad stating that the use of other modes of voting, including internet voting, is merely “exploratory.” She said that under the law, the COMELEC is required to submit its recommendation first to the congressional oversight committee and that COMELEC, on its own, embark on a new voting system. “Can we have a legal opinion on this?” the senator asked, adding that the matter could be a subject of a court case. COMELEC chairperson George Erwin Garcia said he will submit the en banc resolution containing the legal opinion on why the COMELEC will be pursuing the internet voting. Asked by Marcos on the agency's contingency plan in case a court would rule to stop internet voting through a temporary restraining order (TRO), Garcia said the COMELEC could revert back to mail-in or in-person voting. The approved COMELEC budget for 2025 under the National Expenditure Program amounts to P35.47 billion, a P14 billion decrease from its proposed P47.7 billion, being an election year. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)