MANILA — Commission on Elections Commissioner Christian Lim on Thursday has promised to review the list of “hotspots” in the country in relation to the May 9 polls to see why Negros Oriental is included in the list.
Lim told Msgr. Julius Heruela, convenor of the Diocesan Electoral Board of the Diocese of Dumaguete, that he believes Negros Oriental is a peaceful province and its political candidates are not inclined towards violence.
While he said he was surprised by the inclusion of Negros Oriental in the list, Lim, however, said he believes the PNP has reasons to declare Negros Oriental as among the six provinces in the country as top election watchlist areas.
The other provinces are Pangasinan, Masbate, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Western Samar.
According to Lim, these areas will definitely receive additional government troops for election deployment.
Commissioner Lim was speaking on the Automated Elections System during the plenary of the two-day training of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, where Monsignor Heruela, leading a 20-member team, is currently attending.
Around 300 priests, religious sisters, lay faithful, youth and volunteers from 18 archdioceses and dioceses in the Visayas are attending the PPCRV trainers’ seminar on voters’ education and election monitoring at the Pius XII Catholic Center here in Manila.
A couple of other dioceses outside of the Visayas are also represented.
Meanwhile, Monsignor Heruela is leading the team that will be split in two groups for the voters’ education training on the new PPCRV module, One Good Vote and the AES or the Automated Election System.
Monsignor Heruela disclosed that some faculty and staff from Foundation University have been invited to join the DEB as volunteers and to train on the new automated machine and automated system to be used in the May 9 polls.
After the trainings, the DEB will cascade the same at the diocesan and parish levels, as well as in campus voters’ education campaigns before the school year ends sometime middle of March, said the priest. (PNA)
