Comelec activates command center for barangay polls  

MANILA, Philippines — To monitor all election-related activities as well as possible irregularities, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has activated a command and operations center for Monday’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the Comelec Command and Operations Center will be open 24/7 starting on Saturday.

He said the center will oversee all activities related to the BSKE – from the distribution of paraphernalia, payment of honoraria to teachers, and proclamation of winning candidates. The center will also receive and refer to the appropriate department complaints of vote buying and other irregularities.

Aside from Comelec staff, Garcia said, there will also be Department of Education (DepEd) and Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel manning the center as well as representatives of election watchdog groups.

Vice President Sara Duterte visited the Comelec’s main office in Intramuros on Wednesday morning to check on the operations of the center. Garcia said Duterte requested the Comelec to look after the DepEd personnel who will be deployed to man it.

The poll chief said the center would be deactivated only after the last winning BSKE candidates have been proclaimed by Tuesday.

Campaign  ends tomorrow

Candidates in the Oct. 30 BSKE only have until tomorrow to campaign, Garcia said, as he reminded all candidates to observe the end of the campaign period. “On Sunday, campaigning is no longer allowed. We have one day to rest, to think it over with our countrymen on who to vote for,” Garcia said.

Garcia said Comelec will not cease from removing illegally posted campaign materials until Sunday. The liquor ban shall also be in force starting Sunday night until election day.

On election day, he said voters can bring a list of the candidates they will vote for but they cannot take pictures of the ballot. Voters, he said, are not required to bring identification cards.

The Comelec has so far filed disqualification complaints against 186 BSKE candidates for premature campaigning, and six others for illegal campaigning.

Full alert

Police units across the country are on full alert status starting today,

PNP public information officer Col. Jean Fajardo said.

Fajardo said the PNP would deploy at least 187,600 police officers nationwide for the BSKE to ensure the safety of the voters and prevent lawless elements from carrying out attacks. The figure is about 82.28 percent of the 228,000-strong police force.

The PNP is monitoring at least 356 barangays, which are under the red category or areas of grave concern due to intense political rivalry, history of election-related violence and presence of armed groups.

Around 1,323 barangays are under the orange category or areas of immediate concern and 1,231 under yellow category or areas of concern.

The PNP has recorded 23 validated election-related incidents 29 other cases are suspected to be related to the polls. Fajardo said at least eight people were killed and seven others were wounded in poll-related violence in the country.

Meanwhile, up to 1,841 people were arrested for carrying firearms and other deadly weapons in violation of the nationwide gun ban. At least 5,532 loose firearms are in the custody of the police.

Keep watch vs vote buying

Garcia has advised all local government units to strictly watch out for BSKE candidates from other areas who might undertake vote-buying activities in their jurisdiction.

Garcia issued the reminder after the arrest on Wednesday of hundreds of people in Navotas for alleged vote-buying and vote-selling.

According to Garcia, those who were arrested were actually residents of nearby Malabon City. He said the Comelec is issuing a show cause order against the candidates from a barangay in Malabon who were involved in the vote-buying incident, which police authorities prevented.

The poll chief also debunked the claim of the suspects that they were just undergoing watchers’ training for the BSKE. He said police confiscated 1,213 envelopes containing P300 each.

Due to time constraints, Garcia said Comelec cannot disqualify the Malabon candidates behind the vote-buying activities but they will issue an order suspending their proclamation in case they win in the elections.

1.4 million sea travelers

An estimated 1,422,406 passengers are expected to board ships going to provinces during the BSKE and Undas holidays next week, six-percent higher than the 1,337,396 passengers recorded last year, according to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

The majority of passengers are expected to swarm the ports in Ilo-ilo, Batangas, Babak in Davao, Dumangas in Panay Island, and those in Negros Occidental, the PPA noted.

With the massive exodus for next week’s holidays, the PPA has increased its security alert at ports and at the agency’s 25 port management offices across the country.

Aside from deploying port police and security personnel and using X-ray machines and body scanners, the agency has enabled round-the-clock closed-circuit television or CCTV monitoring and roving of canine or K-9 units, it said in its statement.

PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago has also ordered a “no leave policy” for its personnel, it added.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard is also on heightened alert, deploying 20,000 personnel augmented by another 10,000 if needed, PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said during an interview over state-run Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon media briefing yesterday.

In terms of the local polls, the PCG would focus on travel in island provinces by voters, as well as transporting election materials like ballots in far-flung areas, he added. – Emmanuel Tupas, Ghio Ong