By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Election officials are putting power and security contingencies in place across the Bangsamoro region as voters prepare to elect the first parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on Monday.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it has coordinated with the energy and security sectors to minimize the risk of power interruptions during the historic parliamentary elections.
Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said the automated counting machines (ACMs) have built-in battery reserves capable of keeping them operational for several days even in the event of an outage.
“We have coordinated with the security and energy sectors to ensure there will be no power outages on Election Day, although our machines can operate for three days even without electricity,” Garcia said in a radio interview Friday.
The contingency is intended to ensure that interruptions in electricity supply do not disrupt the processing and transmission of election results.
Before voters cast their ballots, all ACMs assigned to the region will undergo final testing and sealing on Saturday.
The Comelec said the exercise will cover machines deployed to 5,212 voting centers, and Garcia urged voters, candidates, political parties, media organizations and sectoral groups to observe the proceedings.
The final test will allow stakeholders to see whether the machines properly read and count ballots and successfully transmit election results.
Monday’s vote will determine representatives for three components of the new parliamentary system. Voters will choose one parliamentary district representative, one parliamentary political party and six parliamentary sectoral organizations.
The six sectoral seats consist of two representing settler communities and one each for women, youth, ulama and traditional leaders.
Comelec spokesperson Jon Rex Laudiangco meanwhile said election personnel have been trained and are prepared to man polling precincts.
He said teachers assigned to the Election Boards are ready for their duties, while trained Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel are available as replacements should any teacher withdraw before or during the elections.
The replacement personnel, according to Laudiangco, have undergone Comelec training and received certification from the Department of Science and Technology.
“They are trained by Comelec, Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-certified, and prepared to conduct the elections at the polling precincts,” he said.
Security preparations have likewise been expanded across the region.
Laudiangco said the PNP and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have established checkpoints under their security agreement with the Comelec, with the total number approaching 36,000.
The extensive deployment is intended to help maintain peace and order as voters participate in the region’s first parliamentary elections.
Despite the scale of preparations, Laudiangco said election-related violence has so far remained limited.
“As of now, only one election-related concern or incident of violence has been recorded,” he said.
With the final testing of voting machines set for Saturday, election authorities are now focused on ensuring that equipment, personnel, power supply and security arrangements are in place before polling begins Monday.
ia/xf
