Comelec ready to build makeshift polling sites for BARMM, BSKE elections amid Mindanao earthquake

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is ready to set up makeshift polling sites in Mindanao for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary and Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (BSKE) elections if schools are unusable due to the recent earthquake.

Comelec chairperson George Garcia made the statement on Wednesday, saying that the poll body is currently assessing the status of schools to be used as polling sites in Mindanao.

He said the makeshift polling sites would be set up as close as possible to the damaged schools or in the school’s open areas to avoid inconveniencing voters.

“Maaaring dagdag na gastos ito, pero sa aming palagay sapat naman yung budget ni Comelec sa Bangsamoro at Barangay at SK elections,” Garcia said.

(This may have additional costs, but we believe Comelec has sufficient budget for the BARMM and BSKE.)

“Kasi pag nilipat natin sila, No.1 kailangan natin silang i-notify, No. 2 paano ang iba naglalakad lang papunta sa paaralan, pag lumipat kami ng ibang lugar, baka kasi sasakay sila at hindi na lang sila boboto, ayaw nating mangyari yung ganun,” he added.

(Because if we transfer them, first, we need to notify them. Second, some of them just walk to school. If we move the polling sites elsewhere, they might have to take transportation and end up not voting. We don’t want that to happen.)

Garcia reported that no Comelec personnel were injured and that the offices in Mindanao sustained no damage.

He assured the public that the BARMM polls will push through on September 14, as the Comelec En Banc approved all the candidates participating in the region’s first parliamentary elections.

Comelec will begin printing 2.3 million ballots for the BARMM polls in late June, Garcia said.

According to the Bureau of Fire Protection, the reported death toll from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck offshore Sarangani has climbed to 53.

“Ang bilang naman po sa aming naitala dito na ibinato po sa aming Emergency Operation Center ay meron nang 53 cadavers na na-retrieve,” BFP spokesperson Fire Superintendent Anthony Arroyo said in an interview on "Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon."

(Based on the information received by our Emergency Operation Center, we have so far recorded 53 retrieved cadavers.)

Arroyo said some of the recovered bodies have yet to be identified.

The Department of Education (DepEd), citing initial assessments, reported that around 6,224 schools across the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, SOCCSKSARGEN, and Caraga were affected by the earthquake.

Meanwhile, more than 3.2 million students, along with about 128,000 teachers and school personnel, were also affected, the agency said. —RF, GMA News