Cebu now ready for polls

MULTIPLE AGENCIES REPORT

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With just 12 days left before election day, regional agencies assured the public that Cebu --one of the country's vote-rich provinces-- is fully ready to ensure a transparent, honest, and orderly electoral process.

Officials from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in Central Visayas, and the Visayas Electric Company Inc. (VECO) expressed their commitment during a town hall meeting hosted by The FREEMAN yesterday titled Energized and Connected: "Infrastructure Readiness for a Transparent Election" at Seda Hotel.

Comelec assistant regional director Veronico Petalcorin, one of the event's speakers, said that so far the poll body has met its timeline, particularly in conducting trainings, activities, and other preparations for the election season.

In Central Visayas, Cebu currently has at least 3.4 million registered voters across 4,120 clustered precincts. Meanwhile, Bohol has 981,564 registered voters and 1,542 clustered precincts.

Petalcorin said the delivery of ballot boxes to all Offices of the Election Officer across both islands in the region has already been completed.

As of the latest update on the arrival of Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) in Cebu, a total of 4,032 principal ACMs have arrived, along with 437 contingency ACMs, 45 Consolidated Canvassing System kits, and 4,065 external batteries.

He said that the arrival of ballots in Central Visayas is expected on the first week of May.

The Comelec will also conduct final testing and sealing of the ACMs from May 2 until May 7, 2025.

“Atong testingan kung wala bay deperensya ang mga makina... Testingan aron way daghang mga sugilanon, makita g'yud nila nga transparent atong ACM,” he added.

However, Petalcorin said the Comelec hasn't prepared generator sets for election day in the event of a power interruption.