The Commission on Elections announced that official ballots for the May 12 national and local elections in Negros Oriental have arrived Friday in Dumaguete.
Comelec-Negros Island Region Director Lionel Marco Castillano said Wednesday, that the 978,643 official ballots are temporarily stored at a hub in Dumaguete City before being distributed to the provincial, city, and municipal treasurer’s offices ahead of election day.
Castillano said the Comelec no longer allocates excess ballots for replacement for spoiled ones unlike in the previous elections.
“There is no need for spare ballots considering that in previous elections, the turnout of voters is usually around 80 percent or a little higher and that means there will be extra in case, for whatever valid reason, a ballot is considered spoiled,” he said in an interview.
Ballots will be sent to polling precincts on or before election day, especially in remote areas.
The Comelec also announced the completed the delivery of all Automated Counting Machines to the Province’s towns and cities on Monday afternoon.
Five delivery vans, carrying the ACMs, were dispatched simultaneously starting 5 a.m. to transport the machines to the six cities and 19 municipalities of Negros Oriental. The delivery convoys were escorted by personnel from both the police and military to ensure security.
Castillano said the deliveries were completed as scheduled by the end of the day.
Castillano invited volunteers from the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting/Diocesan Electoral Board, as well as other interested parties and individuals, to witness the arrival of the ACMs in their respective towns or cities.
“In the interest of transparency and public trust, we are encouraging poll watchers, volunteers, candidates, and the public to observe the deployment and arrival of the ACMs. They are also welcome to ‘guard’ the ACMs until election day,” he said in an interview.
A total of 1,289 ACMs, matching the number of clustered voting centers in the Province, were deployed on Monday, along with contingency units assigned to each town or city. The battery packs for the machines were transported separately at an earlier time.
Upon arrival, the ACMs were received by the election officers at their respective offices for safekeeping until the Final Testing and Sealing process, which is scheduled for May 6 at the designated polling places.
Castillano assured that the Comelec is on schedule with the delivery of the ACMs and other essential election paraphernalia, and that the process has proceeded without any significant untoward incidents.(Judy F. Partlow/PNA)
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Photo Caption: Comelec officials and election watchdogs document the arrival Friday of boxes of indelible ink and almost 1 million ballots at the Dumaguete pier to be used in the May 12 polls. (Photo by Judy F. Partlow)
