TAGUM CITY – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has said it will put "provincial hubs" to address technical difficulties during the May 9 elections.
During Saturday evening's podcast of the Cabinet Officers for Regional Development and Security-10 (CORDS-10), Comelec-10 Director Francisco Pobe said these hubs will enable technical personnel to immediately attend to possible concerns with regard to the operation of the Vote Counting Machines (VCMs).
"We also established the National Technical Center in provincial hubs that will handle problems or troubleshoot defective machines," he said.
Pobe said some VCMs have been deployed since March 1 to train teachers who will become members of the Board of Election Inspectors in the coming polls.
Rosemary Gaviola-Tolentino of Lumbia Central School in Cagayan de Oro City, said this will be the second election season that she will be operating a VCM.
"So far nothing significant has changed in the process, and it is good that we get to have a refresher in handling the machine," she said.
Health protocols
Meanwhile, Pobe said as a general guideline aligned to the observance of the standard health protocol against coronavirus disease (Covid-19), wearing of face masks and proper hand sanitation should be observed during all election-related activities.
"Based on the IATF [Inter Agency Task Force], for areas under Alert Level 1 and 2, there is no need to ask permission from the Comelec for conducting campaigns. They will just need to ask a permit from the local government for the utilization of the venue," he said.
However, in areas under Alert Levels 3 and 4, candidates will need permission from the Local Campaign Committee Center so the latter will be able to regulate the attendance or participants of the campaign to be held.
Kristine Eblacas, a teacher in Upper Carmen Elementary School of Cagayan de Oro City, said they were informed that there will be Isolation Polling Places (IPPs) in every school on election day.
She said IPPs are part of the Covid-19 health protocols for the coming electoral exercise.
"If a voter has a 37.5 (degree Celsius) temperature, he or she can still vote but they will do it inside the IPPs," Eblacas noted. (PNA)
