The country is already prepared to conduct the national and local elections on Monday, May 9, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the government “had long been preparing for these elections.”

“Handa naman po ang gobyerno para makapagbigay ng safe na halalan para sa ating mga kababayan (The government is ready to conduct a safe election for our citizens),” said Vergeire on Saturday, May 7.

The DOH has been coordinating with other concerned agencies such as with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to ensure the safe conduct of elections on Monday, said Vergeire.

“We conducted a simulation exercise together with Comelec officials noon pong Huwebes, kung saan tiningnan po natin, nag-simulate tayo kung paano natin isasagawa lahat (last Thursday in order to see how we can do this),” she said.

"So, everything is in order. We are closely coordinating with Comelec para po dito sa ating (for our) health protocols," she added.

Health stations will be set up in all polling places to assist people experiencing health-related issues, said Vergeire.

“Ito pong health stations na ito, dito po puwedeng pumunta ang ating mga kababayan na may nararamdaman, nahihilo, tumataas ang presyon at saka dito rin puwedeng magpatingin kung ang tao po ay mayroon pang ibang nararamdaman katulad ng Covid symptoms. At maaari na po nating i-refer doon sa (People can go to the health stations if they experience dizziness, high blood pressure, and also to check if they have Covid symptoms. And we can already refer them to the) isolation place,” said Vergeire.

“We have already mobilized our regional offices, so that we can assist our local government in the establishment of these health stations in our polling precincts,” she added.

Vaccination sites will also be set up near the polling centers to encourage people to complete their Covid-19 vaccination after they cast their votes, said Vergeire.

Vergeire urged Filipinos to strictly adhere to the health protocols to prevent an increase in Covid-19 cases.

“We had been through a lot of mass gatherings already – nakita po natin ang campaign sorties, nakita pa natin dumaan ang Holy Week – nakita ho naman natin ano na iyong compliance natin sa ating mga MPHS [minimum public health standards) ay patuloy na ipinapatupad and we are enforcing (we have seen the campaign sorties as well as Holy week activities and we have seen that adherence with MPHS is continuously being implemented and we are enforcing that),” she said.

“Kailangan ituloy po natin ang pagpapatupad at saka pag-practice ng minimum public health standards at saka sana maitaas pa ho natin ang antas ng pagbabakuna, especially boosters among our public para po tayo ay talagang protektado (We need to continue to implement and practice the minimum public health standards and hopefully, raise the level of vaccination, especially in terms of boosters so that we are really protected),” she added.

“Nakikiusap din po ako... hindi po kaya ng gobyerno alone. Kailangan po natin ng tulong ng ating mga kababayan para mapanatili po nating ligtas tayong lahat sa araw ng eleksyon (I am also appealing , the government cannot do this alone. We need the help of our citizens to keep us all safe on election day),” she furthered.

The Comelec said there are more than 65 million registered voters for this year’s general elections. Polling places are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, May 9.