MALOLOS CITY, Bulacan – The Commission of Elections (Comelec) provincial office here is ready for the upcoming national and local elections on Monday following the simultaneous testing and sealing of vote counting machines (VCMs).
Provincial election supervisor, Rene Cruz Jr. said on Thursday a total of 2,878 VCMs have arrived in the province and were delivered to the province’s 21 municipalities and three cities.
“We have around two dozens of VCMs for repair, but the contingency machines are on their way today,” Cruz said in a phone interview.
He said with the exception of minor delays, there were no problems in delivering VCMs and official ballots to the towns and cities.
Cruz also said allowances have been given to the teachers who will serve as members of electoral boards.
“Yes, kumpleto na ang mga electoral boards na composed of teachers ng Bulacan at nung March pa ito nakumpleto nung start ng training ng mga teachers (The elections boards, which are composed of teachers of Bulacan, were already complete since March when the teachers started to undergo training),” he said.
He reminded the public that the voting schedule will be from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There are 2,007,523 registered voters in the province for the May 9 polls.
Meanwhile, Maj. Norheda Usman, acting chief of the Bulacan Police Provincial Office's Public Information Office, said 1,468 police personnel have been deployed throughout the province.
“The police will guard the VCMs and election paraphernalia for 24 hours,” Usman said.
He noted that the City of San Jose Del Monte and the town of Baliwag are listed under “immediate areas of concern” due to election-related incidents and intense rivalry among the candidates.
On the other hand, the towns of Doña Remedios Trinidad, Guiguinto, Marilao, San Ildefonso, San Miguel, and San Rafael are on the list of areas of concern. (PNA)
