At least 1,279 persons deprived of liberty (PDL) were registered voters in Bacolod City and can cast their votes in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in October, Election Officer lawyer Kathrina Trinio-Caña said Monday, September 18.
Trinio-Caña said the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Barangay Singcang-Airport has a total of 402 registered PDL voters and 877 registered PDLs in BJMP in Barangay Handumanan.
She said in the 2022 elections, the PDLs were also allowed to cast their votes for the local positions.
Trinio-Caña noted that the PDLs can cast their votes on the day of the elections, October 30.
“We will have support staff to be deployed to the designated precincts of the PDLs, and then it will be delivered to the BJMP,” Trinio-Caña said.
She said the PDLs can cast their votes from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. only to give time to the support staff to return their ballots to their respective precincts.
Meanwhile, Trinio-Caña also asked all the candidates to follow the election laws when campaigning.
“For now, all candidates are prohibited from premature campaigning; otherwise, they can be disqualified based on the ground of premature campaigning as an election offense,” she said.
She added that the candidates should also remove their posters placed in trees and on the streets.
The election campaign period for BSKE will run from October 19 to 28.
Trinio-Caña disclosed that the Comelec will also conduct an “Oplan Baklas” in various barangays.*