COMMISSIONER Grace Padaca of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will arrive in Bacolod City Saturday to conduct an accessibility audit of polling centers in Negros Occidental.
This was confirmed by Provincial Election Supervisor Jessie Suarez, who said the Padaca will also meet with the election officers.
The election commissioner will inspect the schools and check their accessibility for persons with disabilities (PWDs), Suarez added.
Padaca, who is on crutches due to the polio she contracted as a child, had been urging the 79,375 PWDs registered voters nationwide to fill out supplementary forms and indicate the type of assistance they would be needing for the 2016 polls.
“People like me need to update our Comelec records if we want to be identified as PWD voters and avail ourselves of the option of voting at more accessible polling places in May 2016,” she said in a media report.
Padaca said that for the first time in the 2016 elections, PWDs, together with senior citizens, will be given a choice of which polling places are more accessible to them.
“They will have the option to have their names transferred to a more accessible election precinct where they can be more comfortable," she added.