ILOILO City – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Region 6 is on track with its preparations for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
All six provinces and two highly urbanized cities in Western Visayas are ready to hold the polls on Oct. 30, according to Atty. Dennis Ausan, Comelec-6 director.
All six provinces and two highly urbanized cities in Western Visayas are ready to hold the polls on Oct. 30, according to
“We’re on the right track, ready na gid kita ya,” Ausan told Panay News yesterday.
Comelec-6 has several activities lined up leading to the start of the election period and the gun ban on Aug. 28.
This includes close coordination of Comelec-6 with provincial election supervisors, city and municipal election officers, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
On Aug. 22, the Regional Joint Security Control Center led by Ausan and the PNP, AFP and other partnered government agencies will meet to discuss security plans and preparations for the barangay and SK elections.
The Comelec-6 director is also touring local governments to give lectures and refreshers to election officers on conducting manual elections.
“Ako ya, I do some lectures to refresh the minds of my field people para mangin maayo ang pag-conduct sang aton manual elections considering nga may mga tawo kita nga would be sitting as election officers for the first time,” said Ausan, adding that the same goes for electoral boards.
On Aug. 14 to 17, Ausan disclosed that all Comelec regional directors, provincial election supervisors, regional attorneys, and lawyer election officers nationwide would gather in Metro Manila to attend leadership training, legal education for attorneys, and briefing on the final guidelines on the conduct of barangay and SK elections to be spearheaded by the Comelec en banc.
He added that the voters’ list has also been printed and those who will constitute the electoral board are being finalized.
By mid-September, Comelec-6 will again meet with the AFP, PNP, and other counterparts to finalize security plans.
This week, ballot boxes for Iloilo, Antique, Capiz, and Aklan are expected to arrive.
“We were expecting the arrival of the ballot boxes, kon sa diin maga-cover sang deficiency sa ballot boxes,” Ausan said.
Aspirants urged to visit election offices early
“Those who intend to file COC [certificate of candidacy], this early magkadto na sila sa aton mga opisina to ask kon ano ang kinahanglanon,” said Ausan, to avoid possible problems during the COC filing period from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2.
He said that in previous elections, among the problems encountered in the COC forms of aspirants were: lack of information provided, wrong form secured, no documentary stamp, not notarized, or no signature.
“That’s why kinahanglan palantaw nila kon okay before Aug. 28 para kon ano ang kulang kag sala, ma-correct dayon,” Ausan added.
There are only two common cases where election officers deny the COC.
First is if the aspirant is underage or overage for SK.
For the SK chairperson, the candidate must be 18 years old on the day of the election but not more than 24 years old by the day of the election.
“Dapat indi sila maglapaw sa 24. Magsiling ka 24, dapat indi 24 and one day old kundi 24 years old ka gid that day,” emphasized Ausan.
Second is if the aspirant is not a registered voter in the concerned barangay.
The COC forms for barangay and SK elections are available at the Comelec official website, https://comelec.gov.ph.
During the filing of COCs, the Comelec office is open from Monday to Saturday, even if Aug. 28 was declared a national holiday (National Heroes Day).
“That’s why they should be prudent enough nga mag-check sang tanan para correct ang ila form. Kay hinali kon mag-technical sila ma-deem not filed ang ila COC,” said Ausan.
The 10-day campaign period, meanwhile, is from Oct. 19 to 28.
Who is qualified to file a COC?
There are five basic qualifications to be met by the aspirant to run for barangay and SK elections, and these are the following:
* must be a Filipino citizen
* a resident of the barangay where they intend to run for at least one year before election day
* must be a registered voter
* able to read and write
* aged 18 and above on barangay election and 18 to 24 years old for SK
Those 15 to 30 years old could vote for SK positions, and only those 18 years old and above could vote for barangay election./PN
