Saturday, July 28, 2007 Comelec: Nothing wrong with 'hakot' By Lizanilla J. Amarga
BARANGAY officials are not committing electioneering when they bankrolled the transportation and other expenses for the voter registration of their constituents at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Cagayan de Oro City.
Stalin Baguio, an official of Comelec-Cagayan de Oro, said this as he confirmed that their office is currently extending the registration of new voters to the end of this month.
The registration is in preparation for the October 2007 Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
Earlier, the deadline for registration of new voters was set Sunday last week. The deadline was extended until July 31.
Baguio said hundreds still trooped to their office to have themselves registered with the help of some barangay officials.
He clarified that these barangay officials who are shelling out funds to have their constituents registered cannot be accused yet of electioneering.
The elements of electioneering mandate that the offense is committed within an election period and that the person is already a bonafide candidate for an elective post.
Earlier, the Task Force for Good Governance led by Manny Valduhuesa together with other concerned multi-sectoral groups voiced apprehensions as to how some barangay officials are guilty of violating the Omnibus Election Code, particularly on the provisions on "anti-hakot" and vote-buying.
Involvement of these barangay officials in spending even their own personal funds just to have a resident registered as a voter, according to these groups, already violates the Omnibus Election Code.
Meanwhile, Baguio said the volume of voter registrants trooping or even camping around their office is not as huge as before.
He clarified this time they are giving out priority numbers only by 8 a.m. and will be accommodating up to 200 registrants per day. Unlike in the scheduled period for registration, when Comelec personnel already gave out priority numbers as early as 2 to 3 a.m., added Baguio.
During the scheduled registration of new voters, Cagayan de Oro City Councilor Dante Pajo, head of the committee on health and sanitation, took the initiative to put up a stand-by medical team and ambulance at the Comelec office together with Dr. Jerry Calingasan.
There were over a dozen voter applicants who lined up at the Comelec who fainted due to heatstroke, dehydration, and headaches, among others.
