Comelec braces for election this summer, after failure to postpone
Senate hasn’t supported House’s move to postpone again; Comelec says there are about 2.8 million voters in Cebu
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Cebu Province is getting ready for the youth and barangay elections on May 14, 2018, for which prospective candidates must file their certificates from April 14 to 20.
Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano said about 2.8 million voters are registered in Cebu Province and Cebu City.
In a social media post last Thursday, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez quipped: “That whooshing sound you hear is the collective sigh of relief exhaled by 57,284,798 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan voters learning the Congress went into recess this week without the Senate having done anything to support the House of Representatives’ initiative to postone” the elections.
Since the last such election in October 2013, village and youth elections have been postponed twice.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is now ready to conduct the Barangay and Sanguniang Kabataaan (SK) elections on May 14, 2018.
Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano said there are about 2.8 million voters in Cebu Province and Cebu City.
Those who will vote for candidates for barangay officials are aged 18 and above. Those who will vote for the SK candidates are 15 years old to 30 years old. This means voters who are 18 to 30 years old can vote both in the SK and barangay elections.
He said those who can ran for the SK position should be aged 18 years old to 24.
Castillano said the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy for both barangay officials and SK of- ficials are at 5 p.m. on April 20.
He said public school teachers will also serve during the election, but this is not mandatory anymore. The teachers can refuse to serve, and can be replaced with people from other areas.
However, Castillano said, most of the public school teachers expressed their willingness to serve in the election.
He said that most of the ballot boxes that are in Manila will be delivered to the precincts three days before the election.
The treasurer will divide the ballot boxes according to the number of precincts.
“The filing period will be April 14 to April 20. Those who are still thinking of whether running or not have until 5 p.m. on April 20,” Castillano said.