CV ready for polls; voters urged to vote wisely

CEBU, Philippines — Tomorrow, May 14, the Philippines will once again choose new leaders for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan.

While platforms and priorities of candidates vary, the police believe voters should choose leaders who can support the campaign against illegal drugs.

“The Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections are very important to all of us. We need to vote for people who can help us decide the war versus drugs in the barangays,” said Chief Supt. Robert Quenery, director of the Police Regional Office–7.

Quenery said one of the factors why they continue to fight the drug war even after two years since the campaign was launched is the uncooperative barangay officials.

“On the statement of Director General Oscar Albayalde that we are not yet halfway on the war on drugs, that is true, especially if we based our observation on barangay drug affectation. For Central Visayas, we can hardly attain drug clearing operations, which requires a whole government approach and not merely law enforcement operations,” he said.

He said PRO-7 wants to clearly 205 barangays of illegal drugs or roughly 17 barangays per month.

Last Thursday, 25 barangays from Cebu Province were declared drug free by the oversight committee led by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the implementing arm of the Dangerous Drugs Board.

The end of the campaign period yesterday was “generally peaceful,” said Supt. Reyman Tolentin, spokesperson of PRO-7.

At least 8,000 policemen and soldiers will be guarding poll centers across Cebu province come election day.

“All systems go. Security preparations are in place and no recorded election related incident (ERI). So far, generally peaceful. We are looking forward to the day of the elections,” Tolentin said.

He urged the public to observe basic rules set by the Commission on Elections.

“The liquor ban and the campaigning like pagpanghatag og balota, lakip na pagpanghatag kwarta, that will be violation of the election code,” he said.

He encouraged the public to take photos and videos of violators, as these will serve as strong evidence during prosecution.

“Anyone can report because gamay ra ang COMELEC personnel. Dapat madakpan on the act. Sayon ang pagreklamo pero ang pag-prove mao ang lisud.  Video and photo can be very good evidence to prosecute,” he said.

For its part, the Comelec has a last minute reminder to the voting public:

“Pilion nila ang angayan nga molingkod sa posisyon tungod kay ang kaugmaon sa ilang barangay magdepende sa ilang mga desisyon… Ayaw ibaligya inyong boto tungod kay mao kana ang nagrepresentar kaninyo. Mura na pud og gipaubos ninyo inyong kaugalingon ug gibaligya inyong prinsipyo ug baruganan,” said Acting Comelec 7 Director, Atty. Veronico Petalcorin.

Communication

Meanwhile, the National Telecommunications Commission will set up a communication system that would link the Comelec to the different provinces in the region.

“If in case there will be problem in the signal or power, there will be a centralized communication network that will be installed at the regional offices of COMELEC and PRO. We will set up a radio communication system there that is linked to the different provinces in the region,” said NTC-7 Director Jesus Laureno.

NTC also tapped radio communication groups to serve as volunteers on election day. Some of the groups will assist Comelec and the police while others will be stationed at polling centers.

“They are to report any incident they observe in the field. These reports will be conveyed to the concerned office,” Laureno said.

He said NTC has direction telecommunication companies to ensure their facilities are functional and operational on election day.

Clean Up

Yesterday, Environmental group EcoWaste Coalition called on candidates to clean their communities of campaign posters now that the campaign period is over.

“As the grueling campaign has finally concluded, we ask all candidates to change gears and plan for the ecological clean-up of posters and other propaganda materials in their neighborhoods.  Regardless of the poll results, please shift to the clean-up mode,” said Daniel Alejandre, Zero Waste Campaigner.

Alejandre said cleaning up would be a way of expressing magnanimity in victory, as well as graciousness in defeat.

“We hope poll candidates and their supporters will exert the same effort, time and resources they have invested during the campaign period for post-election ecological cleanup and recycling activities on May 15," he said.

He said campaign materials should be segregated, not mixed altogether, to facilitate their proper recycling or disposal. He also cautioned against open burning of campaign materials, particularly those made out of chlorinated compounds such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic tarpaulins.

“Aside from particle pollution, the open burning of trash may cause the formation and discharge of dioxins, a group of highly toxic chemicals resulting from combustion processes," he said. — /JMO (FREEMAN)