Barangay Election Postponed in Bicol Towns

I love Comelec because it messes up the election!! The task they are supposed to cut clean, smart, quick and with professional punctuality.

There are times we don’t have to believe and take word for word what government agencies and their spokespersons blubber on the media.

A certain percentage of these are to raise their “pogi points” which at the end are overshadowed by the actual events.

We are referring to the Commission on Elections when on Saturday its spokesman James Jimenez blurted to newsmen that “All systems are glowing green…We’re pretty optimistic we can pull this off.” It was part rubbish of course, just half truth.

Just thinking aloud, why is the Comelec shipping election paraphernalia a few days before the actual election, or midnight before election, to be exact? So that it always comes to a frustrating situation where these materials either arrive late or never at all on actual election day.

We can never expect too much from an agency that has been lagging behind in doing its homework in too many election occasions. And to consider that this exercise do not happen every day and preparation was presumed to have been done a good long time ago.

Take for example the town of Calabanga. Voters went early to election precincts only to learn later that voting will not push through because the all-important paraphernalia was nowhere around.

Marian Ramos reported that with the postponement of the election, voters were very frustrated at the Comelec. The right word should be mad.

Some other towns of Camarines Sur were able to push through as about 50 per cent of the necessary paraphernalias arrived which was not enough for the 35 municipalities and 2 cities.

Mr. Privaldos Othello, our Cbanga360 reader, reacted with dismay and frustration as he lamented and called the attention of the agency concerned: “Virac, capital of Catanduanes (has) no election paraphernalia available. Comelec look at what you have done.”

Mr. Othello, the 35 bundles of election paraphernalia and ballots for the province of Catanduanes must have arrived now from the port of Tabaco in Albay. (Let us know if election takes place today. And if you make it a good read, will make it as a guest post.)

Only seven towns of Sorsogon (Barcelona, Bulan, Bulusan, Magallanes, Matnog, Pilar and Prieto Diaz) were able to proceed the conduct of election, the remaining nine towns will have to reschedule a different date.

Palanas town of Masbate went ahead with the Monday schedule while 19 towns will hold election today.

In Albay province governor Joey Salceda made a proactive reaction. He issued yesterday an executive order declaring Tuesday as provincial special holiday to enable the orderly conduct of the election.

The only good note here is that the province of Camarines Norte had the election unhampered yesterday.

What’s up Comelec! Even their website takes too long to open. Wake up!!!


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5 thoughts on “Barangay Election Postponed in Bicol Towns”

  1. Virac capital of Catanduanes NO ELECTION paraphernalia available. COMELEC look at what you have done.

  2. Some interesting notes here:

    The party-list group Ako Bicol said the Comelec “has a lot of explaining to do” for the postponement of elections in Bicol.

    “When the truck transporting election paraphernalia to Bicol broke down in Quezon province, the Comelec didn’t have a contingency plan,” Ako Bicol Rep. Rodel Batocabe said in a statement.

  3. More from Rep. Batocabe:

    “It was a simple mechanical trouble that could have been easily solved. Why did the Comelec fail to hire a replacement truck right away?”

    Batocabe said the Comelec should have announced the election postponement earlier.

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