By JEN BAYLON
The Commission on Elections in the Negros Island Region (Comelec-NIR) expressed gratitude for the peaceful conduct of the May 12 midterm elections while acknowledging areas for improvement in their preparations.
Despite their overall success, Comelec-NIR Assistant Regional Director Jossil Macute said there were challenges with some election materials.
“Preparation, automated counting machines [ACMs], ‘yung balota and everything — in this aspect po sabihin natin meron pa tayong room for improvements,” Macute said.
He cited the issue of blurred ballots in Cauayan town, where over 1,000 ballots were affected due to timing marks being unreadable by ACMs, rendering those votes uncountable.
To address this, contingency measures were implemented by directing affected voters to nearby polling centers with available ballots, avoiding delays of several days while awaiting replacements from Manila.
Macute also praised the cooperation of candidates and the public, noting that tensions during the elections were relatively low across Negros Island.
The Comelec also thanked the Philippine National Police and Philippine Army for their full support in maintaining peace and order during the elections.
‘Answered prayer’
Regarding the threat posed by the recent activity of Kanlaon Volcano, Macute expressed relief that the volcano’s eruption was postponed on election day, which was crucial to ensure the polls could proceed safely.
“Sabi lang namin, ‘Lord, kahit one day lang talaga hindi pumutok ang bulkan.’ It’s an answered prayer na ‘wag lang pumutok on election day,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the persistent issue of vote-buying, Macute highlighted the difficulty in prosecuting cases without direct evidence or complainants willing to file affidavits.
“It’s just so unfortunate and medyo disheartening din to know that everybody wants change. Lahat tayo gusto ng pagbabago, pero nobody wants to take that first move to change,” he remarked.
He emphasized that Comelec alone cannot stop vote-buying unless the electorate actively participates in reporting and taking responsibility for such offenses.
Overall, Comelec-NIR remains committed to refining election processes and ensuring future polls are conducted with greater efficiency and integrity./JB, WDJ