Comelec adopts austerity measures amid national energy emergency

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has implemented austerity measures relative to the president’s declaration of a state of national energy emergency to ease the impact of the war in the Middle East. The Commission en banc on Thursday adopted the recommendation of Chairman George Erwin Garcia to postpone or cancel non-essential travel and activities that entail significant budgetary expenditures. “This measure demonstrates sensitivity to the economic hardship and fuel price volatility currently affecting the Filipino people,” Garcia said in a memorandum. However, the en banc exempted from its directive activities related to the preparations for the Bangsamoro parliamentary election, the 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, and the 2028 national and local elections, the resolution of electoral controversies and other core functions and activities in compliance with rules and regulations. The recommendations adopted by the Commission en banc include, among others, the postponement of the Election Expo Convention and Conference, including the Asian Electoral Stakeholders Forum VII and the Philippine Election Expo scheduled on April 21-23, 2026. The commission postponed the National Goodwill Games scheduled for May 8-10, 2026 and the team building activities of all departments and offices. The Comelec will also adopt a work-from-home arrangement for main and field offices every Monday beginning April 6, 2026. Meanwhile, Malacañang on Thursday assured the public that essential government services would not be affected by the government’s energy conservation measures. Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said agencies delivering frontline services were not covered by the four-day onsite work being implemented to conserve energy. “The language of the president’s order is clear: Agencies that provide frontline services shall keep their services running at all times,” Recto said in a statement. He said that the “overriding rule” was that “essential, basic and vital services” must not be disrupted. These include agencies involved in the “direct delivery of health, public safety, and emergency response services.” “We do not cut ambulance service in the name of fuel economy. We do not restrict police response to crime in order to save on gas. Services like these are not subject to cost-cutting,” he added. “If fuel prices rise, we will put government vehicles on a gas diet so ambulances, fire trucks, and police patrol cars can continue operating,” he said. Under Memorandum Circular 114 issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on March 6, support and auxiliary offices, even in frontline agencies, are required to reduce their energy consumption by at least 20 percent. Recto said the conservation measures covered regional and administrative offices. “If you are a regional office of the Bureau of Fire Protection, you are covered by energy conservation protocols, but the fuel supply of fire trucks is exempt,” he said.

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