By Rjay Zuriaga Castor and Mariela Angella Oladive
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has delivered several election paraphernalia and supplies for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in Iloilo City on September 23.
Engr. Jinny Hermano, head of the City Treasurer’s Office, led the inspection of the non-accountable election paraphernalia at the Technical Institute of Iloilo City in Molo district.
Hermano said 191 bundles of materials that will be reviewed to ensure their completeness for each precinct in the city.
Each bundle contains election forms and paraphernalia good for five barangays to be distributed to 958 clustered precincts across 63 voting centers in the city.
“Ang ginpadala sa aton subong, ang isa ka bundle unlike before nakaset na sya. So, ang himuon na lang namon is i-allocate na lang sa kada ballot boxes. But we have to check kon ang mga forms nga nakabutang dira [each bundle] sakto sa gina-allocate nga barangay in numbers and in pieces,” Hermano told the Daily Guardian.
Hermano added that the city is still waiting for the arrival of the official ballot forms, election returns, and indelible ink.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Provincial Treasurer has started the distribution of election paraphernalia to the 42 towns of the province.
The local treasurer acts as a member of the Municipal Board of Canvassers and takes custody and storage of election forms, ballot boxes, paraphernalia, supplies, and materials entrusted by the Comelec.
According to Comelec data, there are a total of 65, 312 candidates for the BSKE in the city and the province of Iloilo (4,292 for Punong Barangay; 33,639 for Sangguniang Bayan member; 4,515 for SK Chairman; and 22,866 for the SK Kagawad).
The National Printing Office on September 21 finished the printing of around 92 million official manual ballots and other forms needed for the BSKE on October 30.
The Comelec said the official manual ballots and other accountable forms will be distributed starting in October.
