TO finalize preparations for the upcoming May 9 polls, the final Joint Provincial Security Coordinating Council meeting will be held in Negros Occidental today, May 3.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Provincial Supervisor lawyer Roberto Salazar said the meeting will involve the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other agencies involved in the elections including the Provincial Health Office (PHO) considering that health protocols should be strictly observed on election day.
Salazar said the Vote Counting Machines (VCMs) that will be used in the elections have already been distributed in different towns and cities from April 26 to 28.
The VCM distribution was escorted by the PNP and AFP and will be stored at the warehouse of every locality before the final testing scheduled on May 7, he added.
As to the official ballots, Salazar said, these were already simultaneously distributed on April 29 to all City and Municipal Treasurer's Offices in the province.
The official ballots will be brought to the voting precincts on election day.
Salazar said he hopes that the election in the province will be peaceful as indicated by the present situation.
In Bacolod City, the Emergency Operations Center-Task Force (EOC-TF) has expressed support to the Comelec's plan to allocate rooms for the voters who exhibit symptoms of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) during the election day.
Dr. Chris Sorongon, deputy for medical data and analysis of EOC-TF, said yesterday that it's a good plan of the Comelec-Bacolod to identify rooms for the voters with Covid-19 symptoms.
Citing Comelec guidelines, Sorongon said the voting centers should have a thermal scanner, alcohol and must observe minimum health protocols.
"The voters should ensure that they are wearing face masks while at the polling centers," he said, adding that their temperature will be checked before they will be allowed to vote.
If they have a fever, they will be brought to the isolation room with Comelec personnel who are also wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).
They can still vote, he pointed out.
Sorongon added that those with fever or other Covid-19 symptoms will then be referred to the local government unit with the assistance of the EOC-TF.
Sorongon, however, said those who are confirmed Covid-19 patients at the quarantine centers cannot vote.
"How can you (Covid patient) vote since you are still at the quarantine center because you will pose a risk to the public?" he asked.
Bacolod City has maintained single-digit Covid cases so there's a need to follow health protocols, he stressed, adding that under Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act, people who are the subject of quarantine and isolation measures are bound to comply with such an order.