THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said it might have budget issues if village and youth council elections and national and local elections were held in 2025, after a Supreme Court ruling set the former to every December starting that year.

The agency would appeal the ruling that voided the law postponing this year’s village and youth elections and set these on every first Monday of December starting in 2025, Election Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia told a summit streamed live on Facebook.

He said the election body would need to ask for more budget for preparations if the elections were held in the same year and if both were automated.

“We agree with the Supreme Court’s guidelines on postponing the elections, but the issue of conducting the elections within the same year would need clarification,” Mr. Garcia said in mixed English and Filipino.

He added that the Commission on Elections would file its motion for reconsideration once it receives a copy of the tribunal’s decision.

The 2025 national and local elections would cost about P25 billion, including the lease of 128,000 vote-counting machines, Mr. Garcia said. The election body needs another P25 billion for village and youth council elections if these were held in December 2025.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in October signed into law the postponement of village elections, which were originally scheduled for December last year, to the last Monday of October 2023 and every three years thereafter. The High Court said in its decision there was no compelling reason to delay the vote.

“The court found that there was no legitimate government interest or objective to support the legislative measure and that the law unconstitutionally exceeds the bounds of Congress’ power to legislate,” it said, citing the decision written by Associate Justice and former Election Commissioner Antonio T. Kho, Jr.

Mr. Garcia earlier said the ruling would not change its preparation for the elections and was “addressed to the political departments of our government for future guidance.”

In March, Comelec said it would discard 98,000 vote-counting machines to make way for new equipment.

Last year, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines urged Comelec to review the automated election system and enforce measures that would discourage members of political dynasties from being elected. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

THE PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) on Monday said it is looking at using artificial intelligence (AI) to boost intelligence gathering and the prevention of cyber-crimes.

It signed a deal with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Monday to boost the capacity of law enforcers.

“The PNP as the primary law enforcement agency and DICT as an agency entrusted with harnessing the potential of information and communication technology for national development recognize the value of collaboration in achieving our shared goals,” national police chief General Benjamin C. Acorda, Jr. said at a signing event in Quezon City.

“These vital efforts address the emerging challenges and opportunities in the digital landscape.”

Mr. Acorda said the two agencies would look into using AI to make police operations more efficient.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos, Jr. last year said he would seek new equipment and hire more technical experts to boost police capacity to address cyber-crime.

In April, a report by cyber-security researcher Jeremiah Fowler posted on the vpnMentor website showed that more than 1.2 million police records and 800 gigabytes of information on people who work or applied for employment in law enforcement in the Philippines had become publicly available on a database.

The National Privacy Commission said it would work with the PNP, National Bureau of Investigation and other agencies to look into the data leak.

“This collaboration represents a significant step towards our commitment to leveraging the potential of ICT in order to enhance the capabilities of law enforcement agencies,” DICT Secretary Ivan John E. Uy told the same event.

He said his agency was working with the PNP in developing an online platform that would allow Filipinos to report crimes in real time.

Global cyber-security firm Kaspersky said in a report on April 17 web attacks targeting entities in the Philippines rose to 492,567 in 2022 from 382,940 a year earlier.

The Philippines ranked 42^nd out of 250 that were most affected by data breaches in the first quarter, with 48,747 leaked accounts, virtual private network service provider Surfshark said in a May report. This was down by 78.5% from 226,970 in the fourth quarter of last year.

“Modern anti-cybercrime equipment will empower our police officers to dismantle illegal operations, combat human trafficking and safeguard our nation against cyber-criminals,” Mr. Acorda said. — John Victor D. Ordonez