The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has requested 483 additional ballot boxes for the Oct. 30 synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Election In an interview Thursday, Provincial Election Supervisor Salud Milagros Villanueva said they requested additional ballot boxes because some of their existing ballot boxes are no longer serviceable. ‘There are more than 1,000 ballot boxes at the various municipal offices, but some of them already need to be replaced,’ she said. The province needs a total of 1,313 ballot boxes. In addition to the request for ballot boxes augmentation, the Provincial Joint Security Control Center (PJSCC) chaired by the commission has instructed the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Army (PA) to identify their watch list areas during their virtual meeting on security preparations on Aug. 9. The areas will be presented during their command conference and activation of the PJSCC before the start of the elections period on Aug. 28. The PJSCC has the PNP, PA, and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) as members. ‘I know that the PA and PNP have already identified the watch list areas, but we will wait during the command conference for these agencies to present,’ she said. Villanueva said municipal election officers have been conducting ocular inspections of voting centers in their respective localities to ensure the convenience of voters during Election Day. The province has 521 voting centers. ‘There are 548,686 registered voters for the BSKE from the 590 barangays,’ Villanueva said. She also urged voters to check their names and precincts posted at the Comelec offices in their municipalities to avoid the rush during the big day. ‘The voters’ lists have already been posted on Aug. 1 at the Comelec offices so we encourage the voters not to wait for days before the BSKE,’ Villanueva said.
Source: Philippines News Agency