Comelec to use makeshift precincts in areas damaged by Agaton — official

Some Filipinos voting in Eastern Visayas will have to cast their votes in makeshift precincts after Tropical Depression Agaton damaged polling centers in several areas in the region, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Thursday.

Comelec Executive Director Bartolome Sinocruz Jr. said they have already issued the directive to their regional offices and ordered the construction of temporary polling precincts to "remedy" the situation.

“May mga reports tayong na-receive from Region 8 reporting that several voting centers have been damaged by the typhoon. As remedy, nagpagawa na tayo ng makeshift polling centers at i-procure  na ng regional offices ngayon para sa voting centers natin,” he told reporters in an interview.

(We received reports from Region 8 that several voting centers have been damaged by the typhoon. As a remedy, we ordered makeshift polling centers which will be procured by our regional offices for our voting centers.]

The makeshift centers will mimic the size of a small room but will depend on the number of voters to be accommodated, Sinocruz Jr. said. It will also be made of wooden materials.

“I-approximate natin yung size ng polling rooms para ma-accommodate yung number of voters. Ginagawa na yan, nagpo-procure na ang ating regional offices,” he said. “Yun namang hindi kailangan mag-makeshift, nag-transfer na yan ng voting centers.”

(We will approximate the size of polling rooms to accommodate the number of voters. These are being done and will be procured by our regional offices. Those not needing makeshift [polling centers], will be transferred to other voting centers.)

Agaton wreaked havoc on parts of the Visayas and Mindanao regions ahead of Holy Week. It affected 2,081,011 individuals or 599,956 families in 2,421 barangays in Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen, Caraga, and Bangsamoro.

Based on the latest report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the death toll from its onslaught has reached 178.

Sinocruz Jr., however, said no elections paraphernalia were damaged during the typhoon,  including the voting counting machines (VCM).

“April 12 tayo nag-start mag-deploy.. ang latest report naman sa atin, the VCMs and other election paraphernalia at the time, at the height of the typhoon, nasa barko pa sila, nasa pantalan. So they were not damaged,” he said. — RSJ, GMA News