September 9, 2020
Toward a C-22 (Covenant for the 2022 Elections): Our Unity Statement
Two years from now, we will elect a new President and Vice President, as well as other national and local officials. Even at the risk of stating the obvious, the national and local elections should push through on May 9, 2022.
Any excuse to postpone the elections as scheduled is utterly unacceptable. As the country adjusts to the effects of the global pandemic, we should all the more protect and uphold our basic rights, including the right to suffrage.
With this unity statement, we put on record our commitment to preserve our democratic institutions that freedom-loving Filipinos have fought so hard to restore, even at the cost of their own lives.
Let their struggles and deaths not be in vain as we fight those who think that elections can be dispensed with, as they plan to lift term limits of incumbent officials by changing the form of government.
We challenge the powers that be, as well as various political parties, party-list groups and the Commission on Elections, to similarly put on record their commitment to holding the elections on May 9, 2022. They should sign a Covenant for the 2022 Elections (C-22) with these words: “We commit to holding safe, free, fair, credible and transparent elections on May 9, 2022.”
We likewise call on the public to register. May this serve as proof that we want elections to push through.
Much as there had been various covenants for clean and honest elections in the past, our proposed C-22 is crucial as those in power need to dismiss speculations about a “no-elections” (no-el) scenario given the push for charter change and the shift from presidential to parliamentary system.
The right to suffrage should never be compromised. All of us should remain committed in promoting and upholding safe, free, fair, credible and transparent elections. Let it be said that our C-22 is hardly a catch-22.
