COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 6 May) — Ten teachers who are supposed to serve on the electoral boards here for the upcoming elections here have withdrawn from their election duties, citing the dangers involved in their assignments, according to lawyer Dindo Maglasang, Cotabato City election supervisor.
As a result, the Commission on Elections will have to appoint a Special Electoral Board from the ranks of the Philippine National Police to replace the teachers who backed out from their duties in the Board of Election Inspectors, said Maglasang.
He appealed to teachers not to withdraw abruptly so close to election day.
In the 2022 elections, several teachers supposed to serve in the elections backed out from their assignments on election day due to security risk.
PNP personnel thus replaced the teachers in the special electoral boards in 175 clustered precincts during that time.
Meanwhile, at least 102 police personnel from Region 12 arrived in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on Sunday to serve as election inspectors on scenarios where teachers would refuse to serve.
On Monday afternoon, 159 boxes of ballots intended for Cotabato City’s 159 polling precincts were checked at the City Treasurer’s Office witnessed by watchers, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), PNP, and the Philippine Marines.
The final testing and sealing of Automated Counting Machines and official ballots will be conducted on Wednesday.
Cotabato City, with 135,000 registered voters, has a total of 33 voting centers.
In Carmen, Cotabato province, troops from the Army’s 602nd Infantry “Liberator” Brigade conducdted a Monday flag raising send-off ceremony for the troops who will be deployed to assist in maintaining peace and order during the upcoming 2025 national and local elections to be deployed in areas of the Special Geographic Area and Maguindanao del Sur in the BARMM and Cotabato province in Region 12.
It was attended by troops from the the 40th Infantry Battalion, 34th Infantry Battalion, 1st Scout Ranger Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Battalion, 6th Field Bravo Battery, and the 61st Division Recon Company, who will be partners in ensuring security during the election period.
In his speech, Brig. Gen. Ricky P. Bunayog, commander of the 602IB, emphasized the importance of the troops’ role in providing security during the elections.
“Our mission is not only to guard, but to ensure that the right of every Filipino to vote is exercised freely and without fear. Your presence in the polling places is a guarantee of our commitment to a peaceful election,” Bunayog said. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)
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