The Regional Joint Security Control Center (RJSCC) of the Negros Island Region was officially launched and activated in preparation for the May 12 midterm elections at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City on Saturday, Jan. 11.
Their main concern at the meeting was putting in place contingency plans to ensure that there is no failure of elections even if Kanlaon Volcano is under Alert Level 3, 4 or 5, NIR Commission on Elections Regional Director Lionel Marco Castillano said.
“Our strategy is to conduct the elections where the evacuees are,” he said.
If La Castellana residents are evacuated to Himamaylan City voting precincts will be brought to them, Castillano said.
The transfer of the precincts will need a Comelec en banc resolution, he said.
Castillano said he directed the RJSCC members to come up with their proposals at their meeting next month to be submitted to the Comelec head office, as the transfer of precincts may require additional funding.
Their election security plan will include determining number of troops for deployment, he said.
Donato Sermeno III, OCD-NIR regional director, “will be part of the RJSCC contingency planning, we will take guidance from him”, Castillano said.
He said there were initial recommendations for the security classification of various areas in the NIR, which are still fluid as their main concern was the Kanlaon situation.
The security concerns of the Army and police will have to be fused, Castillano said.
The RJSCC meeting also included a roadshow on the Automated Counting Machine for the polls, he said.*