Canlaon City: The alert level of Mt. Kanlaon will determine if the automated counting machines (ACMs) for the May 12 elections will be delivered to Canlaon City, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Negros Oriental said on Thursday. In an interview, lawyer Eddie Aba, provincial election supervisor, explained that there are separate contingency plans for Canlaon City amid the current activities of Mt. Kanlaon.
According to Philippines News Agency, Aba stated that if the current Alert Level 3 remains until May 6 onwards, the ACMs will be delivered to the polling precincts in Canlaon City. However, in the event of Alert Level 4 or during an eruption before these dates, the ACMs will be redirected to pre-identified voting centers in other towns and cities outside Canlaon City.
The alternate voting centers for Canlaon City residents in an Alert Level 4 scenario are located in Vallehermoso, La Libertad, and Jimalalud. Aba further mentioned that, for the time being, the ACMs that arrived in this capital city on Thursday afternoon will be stored at a hub for safekeeping.
The ACMs are scheduled for delivery to the different clustered voting precincts in the province on May 6 for the Final Testing and Sealing. A cargo vessel docked at the city port on Thursday afternoon, offloading four container vans with the first batch of ACMs.
The Comelec will conduct an inventory of the shipment to verify the number of ACMs delivered. Negros Oriental requires a total of 1,289 ACMs for the May elections, corresponding to the number of clustered precincts.
In related developments, two foreign observers visited Comelec officials on Wednesday afternoon. Roberts Lismanis and Luisa Lupascu met with Aba and Comelec-Negros Island Region assistant director Jossil Macute to discuss matters concerning their presence during the May elections.
Aba noted that more than 200 observers from the European Union’s Election Observation Mission will be in the Philippines to monitor the midterm elections. The observers hail from EU member states as well as Switzerland, Norway, and Canada.
During their meeting, the foreign observers emphasized their non-partisan role, focusing on observing the entire election process before, during, and after May 12.
