|
Monday, September 15, 2003
Comelec office hot, overcrowded
By Jasmin G. Suma-oy
CEBU -- Disgusted with the condition at the Comelec office, Vice Mayor Michael Rama will be seeing top Comelec officials in Manila for the transfer of the registration and validation of voters' records to the more spacious Cebu City Sports Center.
Rama and Bando Osmeņa-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) councilors experienced the heat and overcrowding at the local election office when they visited the office yesterday to validate their registrations.
Since existing airconditioning units are no longer enough for the crowded room, industrial electric fans have also been installed in the office.
"Mura ni dire og naa ta sa BBRC (This place is like the BBRC jail)," Rama quipped.
City Election Officer Edwin Cadungog (south district) showed to Rama a bruise on his arm that he sustained during the pushing and shoving of people.
Manila has reportedly insisted that the local officials should hold the registration and validation in its office at the WDC Building on Osmeņa Blvd., otherwise they would violate the law.
The election law provides that the registration should only be held at the office of the election officer, Cadungog said.
But Rama is optimistic that with the representation of Cebu City officials, Comelec Manila would give in and allow the transfer of the office.
Also, the City can declare the building unsafe to compel the transfer, the vice mayor said.
During the visit, Comelec personnel also had a chance to bring up to the City Hall officials their needs, such as the deployment of mobile toilets and additional airconditioning units.
Rama promised to send an old airconditioning unit that is no longer being used in his office.
"Maluya mi sa kainit diri, sir (The heat here wears us down)," one employee told Councilor Procopio Fernandez.
The other BO-PK officials who visited Comelec yesterday are Councilors Jocelyn Pesquera, Christopher Alix and Manuel Legaspi.
Rama asked Cadungog to see him at City Hall today so they can discuss the concerns that need to be brought up to the Comelec commissioners.
Cadungog informed Rama yesterday that he already reported to Manila the poor condition of the local Comelec office, which could barely cope with the number of people that troop there everyday.
The south district office attends to an average of 1,000 people per day. And according to Cadungong, this is even still below its quota of 1,700.
Because of the heat and long hours of use, two computers used as data capturing machines have malfunctioned.
With the election law's provision on registration venue, Rama suggested that they declare the building unsafe so they will be allowed to transfer to a more comfortable place.
The office with a low ceiling, he said, is vulnerable to explosion. He noted that because of lack of parking space many vehicles are "double-parking."
The vice mayor said he might also deliver a privilege speech during the regular session of the City Council on Wednesday to highlight the problem at the Comelec office.
Offices of election officers are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday, including Saturdays and Sundays, until Oct. 31 to accommodate all those who wish to validate their registrations and apply to be enlisted.
In a letter to Sun.Star, a concerned voter, who had gone through the registration process, scored Comelec's lack of information campaign. "It was like a circus in there."
If only people knew that they could get the forms from their barangay, this could have decongested the Comelec office, which is not big enough to accommodate all the people who want to register, she had said.
Comelec 7 Legal Officer Marshal Rubia said they distributed one ream of registration forms to the barangays but most of these have all been distributed.
He said they also lacked forms because while a voter needs to fill up three copies, Manila only sent to Cebu forms for a ratio of one for every voter. |
|
|
|
 |
| click
to comment on this article or discuss it with other readers |
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
US soldiers arrive in RP for training