The alert level of Mt. Kanlaon will determine the delivery schedule of the automated counting machines (ACMs) for the May 12 elections to Canlaon City, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Negros Oriental said on Thursday.
In an interview, lawyer Eddie Aba, provincial election supervisor, said there are separate contingency plans for Canlaon City amid the current activities of Mt. Kanlaon.
“If the current Alert Level 3 remains until May 6 onwards, then the ACMs will be delivered to the polling precincts in Canlaon City,” Aba said.
“But in the event of Alert Level 4 or during an eruption before these dates, the ACMs will be delivered to pre-identified voting centers in other towns and cities outside of Canlaon City,” he added.
The alternate voting centers for Canlaon City residents in an Alert Level 4 scenario are in Vallehermoso, La Libertad, and Jimalalud.
Aba said that in the meantime, the ACMs that arrived in this capital city on Thursday afternoon will be stored at a hub for safekeeping.
The ACMs will be delivered to the different clustered voting precincts in the province on May 6 for the Final Testing and Sealing.
A cargo vessel docked at the city port here on Thursday afternoon and offloaded four container vans carrying the first batch of ACMs.
The Comelec will inventory the shipment to determine the number of ACMs delivered.
Negros Oriental requires 1,289 ACMs for the May elections, equivalent to the total number of clustered precincts.
Meanwhile, two foreign observers called on Comelec officials here on Wednesday afternoon.
Roberts Lismanis and Luisa Lupascu met with Aba and Comelec-Negros Island Region assistant director Jossil Macute to discuss some matters relative to their presence during the May elections.
Aba said more than 200 observers from the European Union’s Election Observation Mission will be in the Philippines to observe the midterm elections. The observers are from EU member states as well as Switzerland, Norway and Canada.
During their meeting, the foreign observers stressed they are non-partisan and will simply look at how the entire election process is carried out before, during, and after May 12. (Judy F. Partlow/PNA)
