18M ballots for polls printed

COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) official Gregorio Larrazabal told reporters Thursday that more than 18 million election ballots have already been printed by the National Printing Office (NPO).

The NPO would need to print 50,723,734 official ballots for the automated elections until April 25.

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Larrazabal also reported that the first automated machine delivered to be used for Kalayaan Islands was shipped out Wednesday in the Comelec hub at Puerto Princesa City.

“The first PCOS (precinct count optical scan) was shipped out in Puerto Princesa. It will stay in the hub in Puerto Princesa then it will be shipped and transported through a navy vessel to Kalayaan Island," Larrazabal said.

There are a total of 299 registered voters in Kalayaan Island.

“The preparations for the elections are ongoing. As we speak, the computers and PCOS machines are being configured at the warehouse in Cabuyao and the ballots are already being printed,” he furthered.

Other preparations made for the elections include that of the overseas absentee voting on April 10.

Hong Kong and Singapore -- the top two countries in terms of absentee voters -- will also participate in the first-ever automated polls in the Philippine election history.

The special board of election inspectors (BEIs) for the two Asian countries will be trained by the commission on March 25-27. Voter education will proceed the following day.

Clustered precinct concerns

Meanwhile, Larrazabal on Thursday reminded registered voters to prepare a list of their chosen candidates before heading to their poll precinct to allow them to vote easily on Election Day.

“Before you go to voting centers, have a list of candidates you'll vote for and the list has to include the number of candidate so it’s easy to find the name of candidate,” Larrazabal said.

Poll watchdog Kontra Daya 2010 earlier said the 11-hour voting period will be insufficient to accommodate all registered voters in a clustered precinct.

Voters may cast their votes on May 10, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A clustered precinct has a maximum of seven polling precincts and 1,000 registered voters.

Registered voters may obtain their clustered precinct information from the election officers in the district offices of Comelec.

Comelec citizens' arm Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) will also have help desks in voting centers all over the country on Election Day.

Precinct information is also stated in the voter information sheets to be sent out by the poll body in mid-April.

The voter sheets will serve as sample ballots containing the name of voter, and municipality and clustered precinct where he or she belongs to. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)