SEVERAL voting centers to be used on May 9 polls have been damaged by tropical storm “Agaton” which hit several regions earlier this month, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.
However, election paraphernalia to be used in the affected polling precincts have not been damaged, Comelec executive director Bartolome Sinocruz said in a press conference.
“As for the voting machines, consolidation and canvassing systems, and BGAN (broadband global area network), at the time the typhoon hit, they are still in transit or ports. They were not damaged,” he said.
Sinocruz said Comelec has begun preparations to establish makeshift voting centers.
“We will just approximate the size of polling rooms enough to accommodate the number of voters,” he said.
The Comelec website said establishment of makeshift voting centers are set in Southern Leyte, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Northern Samar, among others.
Comelec Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan assured the public preparations for the May 9 polls are going smoothly, including deployment of voting machines and official ballots and other election paraphernalia.
“We are now ready for the elections. We are, in fact, ahead of schedule in our deployment,” said Pangarungan.
Sinocruz said the Comelec is also looking at further ensuring high voter turnout by partnering with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in its voter education advocacy to be pushed nationwide.
“This partnership will help enhance the voter education capabilities of the Comelec. This will help increase voter understanding on how the elections are conducted and, subsequently, voter turnout,” he said.
AGATON VICTIMS
Government and the private sector have distributed P85.2 million worth of assistance to families affected by Agaton, according to the the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center.
The death toll from Agaton remained at 178, mostly from landslides in Leyte.
The DSWD said that as of 6 p.m. of April 20, there were 49,368 displaced families, or 176,373 persons, in Regions V (Bicol), VI (Western Visayas), VII (Central Visayas), VIII (Eastern Visayas), IX (Zamboanga Peninsula), and X (Western Mindanao).
At least 30,200 families are in 350 evacuation centers while about and 19,150 families are staying with their relatives or friends.
DSWD said some 12,300 houses were damaged in Regions V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI (Davao) and XIII (Caraga). DSWD has an emergency shelter assistance that provides either housing materials or financial assistance of at least P10,000.
The Department Public Works and Highways said P1.45 billion worth of infrastructure, mostly bridges and roads, were damaged in Regions VIII, XII (Soccsksargen) and XIII.
Public Works Secretary Roger Mercado said that as of April 20, the initial estimate of damage to national roads in Region 8 was at P1.27 billion and P30 billion for bridges reached P30 million; Region 12, P6.06 million damage to national roads; and Region 13, P27 million to bridges. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
