Comelec readies alternative polling Centers for Kanlaon voters
BACOLOD CITY – The Commission on Elections in Negros Occidental has prepared alternative polling centers for 12,479 voters in nine barangays who might be displaced by an eruption of Kanlaon Volcano.
POLICE Capt. Judesses Catalogo, spokesperson for Negros Occidental police, and provincial election supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria (right) speak in a media briefing on the preparations for the May 12 midterm elections in Negros Occidental. (Glazyl Masculino)
They are composed of 2,102 voters in Barangay Ilijan, Bago City; 718 in Barangays Ara-al and Yubo in La Carlota City; 1,390 in Barangays Gomez and Zamora in Pontevedra town; 2,116 in Barangays Biak-na Bato, Cabagnaan, Mansalanao, Masulog, and Sag-ang in La Castellana, and 6,871 in Barangay Minoyan, Murcia.
Provincial election supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said that evacuation orders from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) rule out the possibility of affected residents returning home to vote.
As a result, alternative arrangements are being made to ensure their participation in the polls which include Ramon Torres Louisiana National High School in Barangay Ma-ao, Bago City; Antipolo Elementary and National High Schools in Pontevedra town, and Murcia National High School in Murcia town.
For La Castellana town, voting will be held at their respective local schools, while voting will proceed at their original centers in La Carlota City unless ashfall worsens.
In case of ashfall, alternative sites in La Carlota City include Doña Hortencia Salas Benedicto National High School, La Carlota Special Education (SPED) Integrated School, and Cubay Elementary School.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) maintained Kanlaon’s status at Alert Level 3 with a six-kilometer danger zone.
Should the alert rise to Level 4, Comelec anticipates that over 80,000 voters from 27 barangays across Bago, La Carlota, and San Carlos cities, as well as La Castellana, Pontevedra, and Murcia, may need to vote in one of 22 planned alternative voting centers.
Ananoria said that Comelec Central Office do not want special elections because it would affect or cause delay on the proclamations of winners on the national level.
Meanwhile, a total of 1,880 individuals have registered for local absentee voting in Negros Occidental, according to the Comelec.
Ananoria announced that uniformed personnel, including police officers and soldiers, began casting their votes on Monday, April 28.
“The election has already begun,” Ananoria said, emphasizing the early start for those unable to vote on Election Day. The local absentee voting ends Wednesday, April 30.
Police Capt. Judesses Catalogo, spokesperson for the Negros Occidental police, said that 800 of the province’s 2,400 police personnel applied for local absentee voting.