NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Thursday, May 1, it is determined to push through with the May 12 national and local elections in areas affected by the Kanlaon volcano unrest on Negros Island, even in the event of a major eruption.
“Walang failure of elections kahit pumutok pa ang bulkan (No failure of elections even if the volcano will erupt),” Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said during a press conference following the signing of a memorandum of agreement with the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) at the capitol’s social hall in Bacolod City.
“At all cost, the Comelec and its partners must find a way to have elections,” Garcia added, underscoring that even residents staying in evacuation centers need to vote.
With Kanlaon volcano under Alert Level 3 and continued volcanic activity threatening communities, authorities have started preparations to move tens of thousands of voters to alternative voting sites considered out of harm’s way.
If the current alert level persists, a total of 24,362 registered voters from Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental will be transferred to safer polling places, according to Comelec data.
In the event of a worst-case scenario or an Alert Level 4, up to 113,461 registered voters will be relocated: 75,711 from five municipalities and cities in Negros Occidental and 37,690 from Canlaon City in Negros Oriental.
The OCD said its teams were coordinating logistics and security efforts with local governments, police, and the military, said Raul Fernandez, head of the Regional Task Force Kanlaon.
Defense Undersecretary and OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said they were prepared to ensure that the elections proceed safely even in worst-hit areas.
Security forces will be deployed to protect voters and polling precincts, according to Brigadier General Arnold Thomas Ibay, police director in the Negros Island Region.
“We have dedicated security forces to be deployed strategically in these voting areas. We will ensure the security and orderliness of elections in these places,” he said.
In Negros Occidental, displaced voters will be shuttled to pre-designated alternative voting centers. For instance, 2,348 voters from Barangay Cabagnaan in La Castellana will vote at La Castellana National High School in Barangay Robles, instead of their usual precincts at old Fabrica and Cabagnaan elementary schools.
Bago City’s 2,102 voters from Ilijan will be relocated from RS Abindan Elementary School to Ramon Torres Louisiana National High School in the city proper.
La Carlota City will transfer 2,490 voters from Barangay Ara-al and 1,789 from Yubo to separate buildings within Don̈a Hortencia Salas Benedicto National Senior High School.
Meanwhile, 725 voters in Barangay Gomez and 665 in Zamora, both in Pontevedra, will vote at schools in Barangay Antipolo.
In Murcia, 6,871 voters from Barangay Minoyan originally assigned to three elementary schools will be moved to Murcia National High School in Barangay Blumentritt.
In Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, 7,371 voters will be transferred from schools in high-risk villages to safer locations. Voters from Barangay Linothangan will cast ballots at Macario Espan̈olla Memorial School and the Linothangan covered court. Those from Masulog and Panubigan will be brought to Jose Cardenas Memorial High School’s main campus. Voters in Pula will be relocated to the school’s uptown campus in Barangay Mabigo.
This will be the first time in Negros Island’s history that elections would be conducted under such conditions, said former Negros Occidental governor Lito Coscolluela who served as the province’s leader from 1992 to 2001.
Never before has an election on the island been faced with such a natural hazard, according to lawyer Jessie Suarez, who has served for over two decades as the provincial election supervisor. – Rappler.com