Smoking banned in voting centers

Acting on the request of the Civil Service Commission ( CSC), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will ban smoking in all voting centers on Election Day.

In Minute Resolution No.16-0234 dated April 5, the commission approved CSC Chairman Alicia Bala’s request for assistance “to enforce a smoking ban” in all voting precincts.

In her letter to Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista, Bala invoked CSC Memorandum No. 17, s. 2009 or the “Smoking Prohibition based on 100 percent Smoke- Free Environment Policy” in all voting precincts.

“As we continue to protect the interest of the public, the role of the Comelec is indispensable in securing smoke-free environments for our voters, volunteers and everyone who will participate in the proceedings inside our precincts,” Bala said.

She said she believes that “informing the public regarding the observance of Memorandum No. 17 and other efforts relative to this will continue to protect our constituents from second-hand smoke.”

There are 36,788 voting centers and 92,509 clustered precincts nationwide for the

May 9 elections.

Absentee voting

Meanwhile, the Comelec has authorized over 24,000 registered voters to participate in the local absentee voting, which will be held from April 27 to 29.

Comelec Commissioner and head of the committee on local absentee voting Rowena Guanzon said there are so far 24,814 voters whose applications to avail of local absentee voting have been approved.

“The total number of approved applicants for local absentee voting is 24,814 out of 28,705,” she posted in her Twitter account @commrguanzon. A total of 3,891 applicants have been “disapproved.”

Among the reasons for denying an application is when the applicant is not a registered voter and when the application was filed late, not under oath and when it was not duly accomplished.

In the 2010 elections, 25,662 of the 30,611 applicants were approved but only 19,076 actually voted.

In the 2013 polls, Comelec approved 12,732 of the 18,612 applications. Those who actually voted numbered only 8,224.

Local absentee voting can be availed of by government officials and employees, members of the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines and media practitioners who will not be able to vote in their polling precincts due to the performance of their duties.

Under local absentee voting, they will be able to vote only for president, vice president, senators and party-list group.

Comelec hotline

On the other hand, the Comelec will provide a hotline to assist people who may have queries on Election Day.

Comelec’s Guanzon yesterday said the commission has approved the establishment of a P2-million Voter Care Center which could be contacted by those who will have concerns on May 9.

“Comelec personnel will be there to take calls and would refer the people’s concerns to concerned authorities,” Guanzon told reporters.

She said the center will be equipped with a telecommunication system and monitors.

But Commissioner Christian Robert Lim, who heads the Comelec steering committee for the 2016 elections, had opposed the project, saying it would only be a repetition of the functions of the National Technical Support Center ( NTSC) and the Command Center.

“To me, those two are already enough. You have two centers with two hotlines. A Voter Care Center? Why the need?” he said in a separate interview.

He said that while the NTSC is tasked to deal with concerns related to the automated polls on Election Day, the Command Center is in charge of issues like security and logistics, among others.

“I don’t see any reason to come up with something redundant. It is a waste of money and resources,” Lim said.