City Comelec starts checking materials to be used in polls
Personnel from the Philippine National Police and
Philippine Army guard the ballot boxes being
stored at the Commission on Elections (Comelec)
warehouse in Iloilo City.
Photo by A. Chris Fernandez
Election Officer 2 Jonathan Sayno said the City Commission on Elections (Comelec) has already received 229,377 official ballots from their national office to be used in this Monday's synchronized national and local elections.
Sayno, however, said they still lack 380 pieces of official ballots. The city needs at least 229,432 official ballots to meet the total needs of the 226,325 registered voters.
Sayno explained under Comelec rules which governs on election forms and supplies, each precinct should have three extra copies of official ballots. There are 1,144 clustered precincts in Iloilo City. Other than the 226,325 ballots intended for the use of 226,325 registered voters, the Comelec needs an additional 3,432 pieces of official ballots. The same reason, why they lack 380 pieces more of the official ballots.
Since, only the head office of the Comelec is allowed to issue and release official ballots, the city have to prorate the official ballots in different districts where there are large number of registered voters. Not all of the registered voters will cast their votes during election. The voting process will not be hampered because of the lack of extra ballots, said Sayno.
The official ballots is only one of the materials listed by the Comelec in its election forms and supplies. Under the law,there should be posters indicating precinct number and certified list of candidates for senator, party list system of representation, member, House of Representatives, governor, vice governor, member, provincial board, city/ municipal mayor, city/municipal vice mayor and city/municipal councilor.
The other election forms, documents and supplies are election returns, tally board, minutes of voting and counting of votes, paper seals, certificate of votes, certificate of receipt of official ballots, other forms and supplies by Board of Election Inspectors, official receipt of election returns, envelope for voting and counting, envelopes for minutes of voting and counting of votes, key of ballot box, temporary appointment of chairman, poll clerk, third member of the Board of Election Inspectors and oath of temporary Board of Election Inspectors chairman, poll clerk and third member.
The supplies include ballot box, indelible ink, ballpen, long bondpaper, carbon paper, rubberband, padlocks, thumb print/fingerprint takers, self-locking fixed-length seals and ballot secrecy folders.
Sayno said they have 2,228 bottles of indelible ink. Each precinct is alloted only two bottles of indelible ink.
The ink are of good quality and could not be erased easily from the nails of the voters. The presence of the indelible ink on the nails of the voters indicates that they have already casted their votes.
For the ballot boxes, the city Comelec have enough ballot boxes in this May 14 elections. Each precinct needs one ballot box wherein official ballots are deposited for final counting of votes. The city needs 1,144 ballot boxes. The court has already ordered the Comelec to open the ballot boxes subject of the protest filed by Senator Loren Legarda and the national office sent some 700 new ballot boxes to the city Comelec, said Sayno.