Editorial - Serious mission

There are enough reasons why the Commission on Elections has been wary about the threat of power interruptions during the October 25 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. That is because it seems there is no end in sight to power outages presently sweeping across Cebu.

Players in the energy sector had assured of enough supply during the elections. But with 15 more days to go and with the continuing interruptions, it remains to be seen whether the elections will be brownout-free.

Good thing the upcoming electoral exercises will revert to manual manner. Had the Comelec chose to continue implementing the automated system, it would undoubtedly encounter serious problems if power interruptions will occur during the elections.

During an emergency meeting held Friday, representatives from Comelec, Philippine National Police, Department of Energy, Visayan Electric Company and other power distributors in the province discussed remedies in case power interruptions will mar the elections.

During the gathering, the poll body urged those working during the elections to prepare flashlights, candles, among others, if the energy supply turned out to be unstable. Comelec acting Central Visayas director Veronico Petalcorin said they will have emergency lamps or generators ready during election day.

VECO said it cannot guarantee a brownout-free election. So it's better for the Comelec, the police and military to be ready to ensure the election pushes through orderly and peacefully despite a power interruption.

Since the elections will be conducted manually, authorities should leave no stone unturned in their preparations, especially since the scarcity of energy supply may lead to serious power interruptions and cause untoward incidents during election day.

As past experiences would tell us, the manual system has been a magnet for violence in polling places. Many candidates have taken advantage of the slow counting in order to cheat.

However, with the threat of power interruptions adding to the list of concerns they are going to contend with, authorities will definitely have a serious mission to keep things under control during the synchronized elections.