The Commission on Elections offices in the towns and cities in Negros Oriental are now speeding up their preparations for the May 9 national and local elections, a key official said on Tuesday.
Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, Comelec-Negros Oriental provincial election supervisor-designate, told the media that Comelec Regional Director Atty. Dennis Ausan was pleased with what he observed during his visit on Tuesday to the southern part of the Province.
Ausan and Castillano visited Siaton, Sta. Catalina, Bayawan City, and Basay on its final leg of inspection of the various Comelec offices in Negros Oriental.
“So far, there are no major hitches or problems in all the election offices in the Province, and we are now gearing for the upcoming activities that we will undertake in the coming weeks,” Castillano said.
The activities included the arrival of the vote-counting machines and the testing and sealing of the units before the elections, he added.
The VCMs are expected to arrive in April through the official courier, F2 Logistics. These will be stored in a hub in the city before being deployed to the different voting precincts.
Meanwhile, Castillano said the Comelec regional director has also been updated with the current “tense” situation in Bayawan City, where several shooting incidents were reported over the past two weeks.
While the police initially said these are not election-related, Gov. Roel Degamo has asked that the city be placed under Comelec control as he noted that some of the shooting victims were his leaders/supporters.
The latest shooting incident was reported this past weekend where three men were shot while at a coffee shop in the mountain village of Kalomboyan.
The three survived the shooting and are recuperating at a private hospital. They identified the two suspects, who are still at large, to police investigators.
Castillano said the Comelec Regional Director will call for a meeting soon to discuss the situation in Bayawan City, and will give out guidelines on identifying or declaring a particular area as an “election hotspot”.
Meanwhile, the Comelec is now investigating “misleading information” that the poll body is still accepting applications for voter registration for the May 9 elections.
Castillano said that his office has received information about fake news circulating on social media and other platforms that somebody is asking people to register for the upcoming polls.
“The Comelec condemns this fake news using the agency’s name as we have long since ended our registration of voters,” Castillano said.
He cited Republic Act 8189 or the General Registration and Continuing Registration Act which does not allow the registration of voters 120 days before an election.
The deadline for the registration of voters for the 2022 elections was on Oct. 31, 2021, he said.
“In fact, we have finalized and printed our voter’s list for the May 9 elections, and we hope that whatever is the motive in circulating this fake news, those behind this should not carry the name of ‘Comelec’,” he added.
Castillano said Bindoy town is one area where the purported registration of voters was allegedly taking place.
He has asked the election officer and the police chief there to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, he cautioned the people against believing deceptions and tactics like this, saying that during the election season, there are many “tricks” being employed by political candidates and/or their supporters to win votes.
Whoever is behind this fake news, if identified and found guilty, may be charged with usurpation of authority and usurpation of function, as they are not Comelec employees, Castillano said. (PNA)