The Department of Education (DepEd) on Saturday, May 7, said that all of its teaching and non-teaching personnel are now ready for the upcoming May 2022 national and local elections.
“Handa na po ang ating mga guro at ang DepEd para sa darating na Lunes, ang amin lang pong iniisip ngayon ay kung paano papatakbuhin ang eleksyon ngayong merong pandemic dahil meron tayong mga bagong gagawin tulad ng isolation polling place, medical health desk, at voters assistance desk (The DepEd and our teachers are ready for the elections on Monday, all we are thinking about is how to run the election now that there is a pandemic because we have new things to implement such as the isolation polling place, medical health desk, and voters assistance desk),” said DepEd Director Marc Bragado in an interview over DZBB.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Bragado said that they will be implementing strict social distancing. Apart from this, he added that voters will be instructed to strictly adhere to the minimum public health standards such as the proper wearing of masks to prevent the occurence of another Covid-19 surge.
Bragado likewise disclosed that a safety protocol officer will also be in charge of arranging the queue of voters and ensuring that social distancing is maintained while a technical support staff will also be in charge of fixing possible issues in voting machines.
Isolation polling place
As part of precautionary measures on May 9, voters exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms will be asked to vote in the isolation polling place (IPP). DepEd previously stated that it would be set up inside or near some of the institutions designated as polling sites.
“Hindi dapat lalagpas sa lima ang tao na nasa loob ng IPP dahil ayaw nating magkaroon ng hawaan (There should not be more than five people in the IPP because we do not want to have transmission of a possible infection),” said Bragado.
Meanwhile, over 647,000 teaching and non-teaching DepEd personnel are set to participate in ensuring a fair, safe, and clean May 2022 polls, added Bragado.