Daycare centers to stay open on May 9

MANILA, Philippines — Daycare centers managed by local government units (LGUs) are to stay open on May 9 to boost participation of mothers in the electoral process, as ordered by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

In a three-page resolution promulgated on April 13, the Comelec required all LGUs in the provinces, highly urbanized and independent cities, municipalities and barangays to keep daycare centers open for children so that their parents could exercise their right to vote.The Comelec order has been sent to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for cascading to LGUs.

“In order to encourage women to vote without having to worry about their small children, the Commission en banc resolves to require all local government units, specifically provincial governments, city and municipal governments and barangays thru the [DILG], to open their daycare centers,” the Comelec said.

The Comelec said daycare centers should be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day and have teachers or custodians implement minimum public health standards.

The centers must be well-ventilated, frequently cleaned and sanitized, it added.

Checking of body temperature, wearing of face masks and the maximum number of allowable persons should also be observed.

VCM repairs

The Comelec also promulgated on Wednesday the protocols for the establishment of technical hubs for the replacement of secure digital cards and repair of defective vote counting machines (VCMs) during the final testing and sealing in connection with the May 9 polls.

The 10-page resolution stated that there are 82 technical hubs for the purpose under the direct supervision and control of the regional election director, provincial election supervisor or election officer depending on where the hubs are established.

The Comelec said the technical hubs will be composed of personnel of the Departments of Science and Technology and of Information and Communications Technology.?The Comelec said that each candidate, duly registered political party or coalition of political parties, associations or organizations participating in the party-list system and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting may appoint two watchers for the inventory reports.

Another resolution was also promulgated by the Comelec on April 20, stating the guidelines on the issuance of access to the election results data from the media server at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.

Under Comelec guidelines, the media are required to respect the authority of the transparency server center manager and their representatives, immediately identify themselves upon entry into the transparency server center and to strictly observe minimum public health protocols and other measures.

The Comelec said that media personnel are also required to maintain professionalism at all times as it emphasized that “unprofessional activities shall not be tolerated,” which include any behavior deemed disruptive of the work in the transparency server center or engaging political activities.

The Comelec said it has the right to revoke media accreditation for individuals found violating the guidelines.

NY suspends ballot-feeding

The Philippine consulate in New York has temporarily suspended the feeding of the ballots of overseas Filipino voters after one of its VCMs encountered a technical issue.

In an advisory early Friday, the consulate said one of two remaining ballots got stuck inside one of the VCMs during the ballot feeding process.

The issue was witnessed by election observers and was also captured live on the consulate’s Facebook video stream.

“Although a secondary VCM is available, the consulate decided to suspend the ballot feeding until it receives guidance from the Commission on Elections whether said VCM, which has not undergone final testing, can be utilized,” it said.

The consulate said it has decided to just have the remaining ballots fed on the next scheduled ballot feeding on Monday since a response from the poll body could not be immediately received due to the time difference.

The consulate said that around 82 percent of the ballots for registered voters in the northeastern United States have been sent, with the rest expected to be mailed before the end of the week. –  Janvic Mateo