Comelec reshuffling looms

CEBU, Philippines - The officers and supervisors of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) officers and supervisors in Central Visayas may be reshuffled soon.

Newly-installed Comelec Regional Director Temy Lambino said the reshuffling is standard operating procedure every time there is an upcoming election.

“Reshuffling, maybe it would come in a few months time,” Lambino said, adding that he has to familiarize himself first with the election officers, supervisors and the region before implementing the reshuffling.

Lambino is set to meet all Comelec election officers and supervisors on May 11.

According to Lambino, one of his priorities upon his assumption will be on cleaning up the list. The registration for new voters is ongoing in all Comelec offices which will be open until October 31 this year for the mid-term elections on May 13 next year.

Qualified to register are those who will turn 18 on or before May 13, 2013.

Lambino said the Comelec will also conduct satellite registrations in the barangays.

“Sa ngayon busy pa ang mga election officers sa pagsasagawa ng satellite registration, (Election officers are still busy with the satellite registration.)” he said.

Lambino was already informed by Provincial Comelec Supervisor Lionel Castillano that the registered voters in Cebu, including the three highly urbanized cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, now stand at 2, 274,131.

It went down from 2, 363, 711 during the barangay elections last October 25, 2010 and 2, 430,267 as of the national and local election last May 10, 2010, following a clean-up of the list by the Comelec.

Lambino explained that the reduction is due to the removal of double or multiple registrants from the roster of voters.

Others that were removed from the list are those that transferred and registered to another area as well as those who were de-activated for failure to vote twice in a row in the May 10, 2010 elections and in the October 25, 2010 barangay elections.

Under the law, voters who fail to participate in two successive elections will be de-activated after they were notified by the Comelec. A voter can seek re-activation upon receipt of the notice by registering again at the Comelec office in their area.

Meanwhile, the candidates for the May 13, 2013 mid-term elections will have to file their certificates of candidacy as early as the first week of October this year.

Cebu City comelec officer Marchel Sarno said that Resolution No. 93-85 of the Comelec en banc set the filing of certificates of candidacy from October 1 to 5, 2012, which is three months earlier than the previous deadline for filing set in the May 10, 2010 polls.

The Comelec has a December 31 deadline for the final list of candidates, giving it two months to decide all disqualification cases.

Twelve senatorial seats, congressional representatives, and local government positions will be decided by the 2013 polls.

The Comelec resolution also set the campaign period for senators from February 12 to May 11 while the rest are given from March 29 to May 11.  (FREEMAN)