2022 Philippine general election


The 2022 Philippine general election will take place on May 9, 2022, for executive and legislative branches for all levels of government – national, provincial, and local, except for the barangay officials.
At the top of the ballot will be the election for successors to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo. There will also be elections for :
This day is also the expected date of the first Bangsamoro Parliament election, as the Bangsamoro Transition Authority's term ends on June 30, 2022.
Elections are organized, run, and adjudicated by the Commission on Elections better known as COMELEC with appeals under certain conditions allowed to the Regional Trial Courts, the Congress of the Philippines, or the Supreme Court of the Philippines sitting as the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, the Senate Electoral Tribunal, or the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

Preparation

Date of the election

The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines states that unless otherwise provided by law, the election of members of Congress is on every second Monday of May. According to Republic Act No. 7166, election for national, provincial, city and municipal elections are on the second Monday of May, since 1992, and every three years thereafter, with the president and vice president being elected in six-year intervals. It has been three years since the last general election of 2019 and six years since the 2016 presidential election, and with no law canceling the election to date, this means that the election is scheduled to be held on May 9, 2022.

Commission on Elections membership

For this election, all members of the Commission on Elections will be appointed by outgoing president Rodrigo Duterte. Chairman Sheriff Abas and commissioners Antonio Kho and Rowena Guanzon will serve until February 2, 2022, or just over three months before the election. Guanzon is the sole remaining commissioner appointed by former president Benigno Aquino III.

Voter registration

began on January 20, 2020, and will end on September 30, 2021. The commission expects 4.3 million voters to register. Registration was suspended in some areas in Cavite, Laguna and Batangas due the Taal Volcano eruption, in Makilala, Cotabato due to an earthquake, and in Palawan due to the plebiscite to divide it to three provinces.
On March 10, the commission suspended voter registration in the entire country due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. By June, the commission announced it will resume on July 1. However, the commission suspended voter registration anew up to August 31.

Election automation

Representative from Camarines Sur L-Ray Villafuerte proposed to use a hybrid electoral system in 2022, or manual counting of votes, then electronic transmission of results. This is in contrast to the automated counting and transmission system used since 2010. He cited 40 lawsuits on the current system used by the Commission on Elections as evidence to shift away from automated counting of votes. President Rodrigo Duterte has suggested junking Smartmatic as the automation partner for future elections because of problems from the previous election. However, Smartmatic still wants to participate in the future.

Calendar

The Commission on Elections will publish a calendar for the upcoming election. As per the Omnibus Election Code, the Synchronized National Elections Act, and other election laws the following timetable should be observed:
DateActivity
January 20, 2020Start of voter registration
March 10, 2020Suspension of voter registration nationwide due to COVID-19 pandemic
September 30, 2021End of voter registration
May 9, 2022Election day
June 30, 2022Oath-taking of winners

Issues

Laura del Rosario, former Undersecretary for International Economic Affairs encouraged the public to reject "Manchurian candidates," or candidates clandestinely supported by China. Richard Heydarian, a nonresident fellow at Stratbase ADR Institute, noted that "The Duterte administration shows acquiescence does not bear fruit." Del Rosario said that to ensure that a pro-Chinese leader is elected, China may support more than one candidate in the election.