Ballots for SK, barangay polls arrive, stored at CH

Few days before the May 14 elections, at least 151 boxes containing the official ballots for the Sangguniang Kabataan and barangay elections have already arrived and are now stored at the Cebu City Hall yesterday.

Yesterday, representatives of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) of Cebu City’s north and south districts witnessed while the workers of the City Treasurer’s Office opened the boxes to check if it’s complete for the voting population of the city.

Narciso Bendulo, Jr., election assistant II of Comelec, said 40 boxes are for the SK for the north and south district, while the 111 boxes are intended for the barangays of city’s north and south districts.

“Ang official ballots atong gi-check para macheck ang allocation nga ensakto siya para sa umaabot nga election. As of now, nakita namo ang serial number, first and last, nakita namo,” he told reporters.

Cebu City has a voting population of 670,890, which is distributed in 973 precincts in the south and 1,633 precincts for the north district.

Bendulo said Comelec will continuously monitor the area where the official ballots and election supplies are stored.

He also said the Comelec and City Treasurer’s Office will also look into the integrity of the ballots if these are free from markings.

As for the extra ballots, Bendulo said it would depend on the central office if it will send extra ballots for the districts of the City of Cebu.

Juanita Monina Paires of the City Treasurer’s Office and who is the overall coordinator in the segregation and allocation of supplies said the city will ask for security augmentation to secure the building.

Paires said the city government will ensure that the official ballots and election paraphernalia will be stored in a safe area of the building, which is undisclosed for security purposes.

She said the official ballots and election supplies arrived from the central office last May 2.

“Kompleto na atong nadawat nga supplies and ballots,” she said, adding that the City Treasurer’s office will start segregating for the allocation of clustered precincts.

Paires said the distribution of the official ballots and election supplies will start in the evening of May 13 until dawn of May 14 before the start of the elections.

She said there are over 60 vehicles that will be deployed by the city for the distribution of the election supplies and the ballots.

She also said her office will ask the Bureau of Fire and Protection to put a fire truck on standby at the Plaza Sugbo, in front of City Hall, for emergency purposes.

BRIEFING FOR TEACHERS

Meanwhile, Cebu City teachers, who will serve as members of the Electoral Board and Barangay Board of Canvassers, had their official briefing at the Golden Prince Hotel for the South District and Golden Valley Hotel for the North District yesterday.

As per R.A. 10756 or the Election Service Reform Act, the chairperson of the Electoral Boards will receive P6,000 in honorarium; the members of Electoral Boards will get P5,000; the Department of Education Supervisor Official (DESO) will be given P4,000; while the support staff will get P2,000.

Additionally, they are entitled to a travel allowance of P1,000 each.

However, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) mandated a five-percent withholding tax. They will deduct P350 from the honoraria and travel allowance of the Board of Tellers (BET).

Lawyer Anna Gujilde, election officer of the South District, reminded the candidates and their supporters about putting up their campaign materials and the do’s and don’ts during the campaign period.

“Under the Fair Election Act, naa didto na ang maximum size for tarpaulins or posters is 2x3 feet and must be placed on common poster areas not on the wall itself. So, if we say near or around the barangay hall, they must put a temporary structure in front or at the side then ngadto nila ipapilit ilang mga posters,” she said.

“As public servants, dapat mo-follow lang jud ta sa mga balaod. For the nonincumbent, if they are going to be public servants soon, they should be role models and they should follow the rules,” she added.