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Friday, February 13, 2004
Chances dim for cops to vote a week early
By Charmaine Y. Rodriguez
ALTHOUGH an application for absentee voting was done in the region before, local election officers believe time constraints might again make it difficult for the police to avail themselves of the privilege this year.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) 7 Director Salud Aliganga said the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 will just have wait for Comelec Manila’s decision to allow them to vote a week before the May 10 polls.
The local Comelec’s staff is ready for the process, but she fears that the election paraphernalia may not be ready by that time.
The printing of ballots, she believes, is even still ongoing.
She told Sun.Star that Comelec is still busy with preparations due to the shift from automated polls in certain areas to manual canvassing and counting nationwide.
Comelec Regional Attorney Marshall Rubia recalled that the local police also applied for absentee voting in 1995.
He said the application included the list of the names of policemen, their precinct numbers and the areas where they are registered.
Comelec 7 sent it to its main office in Manila for evaluation.
Cebu City Election Officer Simaco Labata said it was never implemented since the process took so long that it was completed close to election day already.
Acting Provincial Election Supervisor Edwin Cadu-ngog said that preparing the ballots would take time.
Some of the military assigned in Mindanao usually avail themselves of this privilege so they can vote in the barracks, which is considered a special precinct.
However, applications are renewed every election year and should have been sent to Comelec Manila during the start of the election period, which for this year’s polls was on Dec. 15, 2003, Cadungog said.
PRO 7 already asked police units in Central Visayas to have the list of policemen.
Police provincial and city directors were ordered to submit the names directly to Comelec Manila and to furnish the PRO 7 and Comelec 7 only copies of the lists.
As of yesterday, Aliganga has not yet received one.
Under Section 12 of Republic 7166, or the Synchronized Election Law only the following can be granted the absentee voting privilege: members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the PNP and other government officers and employees who are duly registered voters and who, on election day, may temporarily be assigned to do election duties in places where they are not registered voters.
But the privilege only applies to the elections for president, vice president and senators.
(February 13, 2004 issue)
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