Top Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) officials are signing a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on the conduct of the May 12 polls at alternative voting centers in areas affected by Kanlaon Volcano’s unrest, at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City on Thursday, May 1.
Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia and Office of Civil Defense Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno will lead the signing of the MOA.
The MOA aims to establish a partnership for disaster risk reduction and management related to elections, especially in La Carlota City, La Castellana and Bago City in Negros Occidental, and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental where 8,338 residents displaced by Kanlaon remain in evacuation centers
“The proposed cooperation includes planning emergency exits for polling precincts, potentially allowing Comelec to deputize the OCD to enhance safety during disasters, enabling early voting for disaster personnel, setting up incident command posts during elections, and exploring other areas of collaboration”, a briefer on the event said.
Garcia and other Comelec officials will also be visiting alternative voting centers in La Carlota City Thursday morning, Negros Occidental Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said.
The Comelec preparations are for Alert Level 3 and 4 at Kanlaon.
Demonstrations on the use of Automated Counting Machines will also be conducted in La Carlota City, he said.
There are 12,479 voters in two cities and three towns in Negros Occidental projected to be affected by Kanlaon Volcano’s unrests, Ananoria said earlier.
However, only 4,936 in Bago City, La Carlota City and La Castellana are directly affected for now.
The 1,390 residents of barangays Gomez and Zamora in Pontevedra and 6,871 from Minoyan, Murcia, will only be affected if Kanlaon emits ash on Election Day, he said.*