The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has purchased additional service vehicles for its employees.
The poll body on Tuesday announced that it has added a passenger bus, a coaster, and a 6-wheeler light cargo truck to its fleet of service vehicles, as part of its over-all response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These new buses will augment our leased shuttle vehicles,” Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said in a statement.
He said this will enable them to "better serve our personnel who reside in the neighboring provinces of Laguna and Cavite, and to more effectively ensure their safety.”
Public transportation has been one of the more challenging aspects of the return to normalcy, in the wake of the imposition of community quarantines on various regions of the country, including the National Capital Region.
Even with NCR and surrounding provinces under General Community Quarantine, mass public transportation still operates under reduced capacity.
According to Jimenez, the new vehicles could also be used for transporting various election supplies and paraphernalia.
“As we approach the election year, the Comelec’s hauling requirements will also be growing and augmenting our capabilities in this regard makes good economic sense," he said.
The vehicles were purchased from One Alliance Motor Source, Inc.
Comelec said that the coaster was delivered on August 19, and the rest are scheduled to be delivered within the month of September.