THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Wednesday, June 10, 2026, that their field offices in Mindanao were left undamaged by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake last Monday, June 8.
In an interview, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said even the Comelec personnel in Mindanao were not harmed by the calamity.
"So far, none of our staff have been injured," Garcia told reporters. "As for our offices, there were no damages as well, except for the overturning of cabinets."
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the province of Sarangani on Monday morning, June 8. The tremor was felt in other areas of Mindanao.
The quake resulted in several buildings being damaged while some even collapsed during the tremor.
Still, the poll chief said he has ordered the thorough assessment of the establishments set to be used as voting centers come the September 2026 Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE).
Garcia said he has directed their field personnel in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) to inspect the school buildings and other establishments that will house the polling precincts come September 14.
"We have instructed our field personnel to find out and assess the condition of the schools we will be using for BPE," said Garcia.
"We want to know if we will need to move from the exact location where the election will be held or if we can just stay there," he added.
If necessary, the poll chief said they want to have makeshift polling precincts.
This, he said, is instead of identifying alternative voting centers that are not proximate to the voters.
"We have no intentions of moving the voting centers, especially if this will result in voters being far away from the places where they are to vote," he said.
"Similar to what we did in similar situations, what the Comelec can do is set up makeshift voting centers in areas near the affected schools so that our countrymen can vote right there," added Garcia.
Based on Comelec data, the BPE will have 5,212 clustered precincts that will operate in 1,186 voting centers. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)
