Poll officers set to be reshuffled

TUGUEGARAO CITY , Philippines  â€” City and municipal election officers nationwide will be reshuffled after the Holy Week, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Grace Padaca disclosed yesterday.

She said the Comelec had implemented in January the reorganization of election officers in the regional and provincial levels.

Padaca explained that the poll body cannot implement earlier the reshuffle of city and municipal election officers due to time and budgetary constraints.

“We cannot make the transfer of local election registrars as early as their regional and provincial counterparts because it entails additional budget,” Padaca said, citing the transportation allowances of the poll officers that the commission will shoulder.

She said the commission believes that the deferred reshuffle of the local election officers will prevent them from becoming familiar with the candidates in their new place of jurisdiction.

Nueva Vizcaya vice governor Jose Gambito, a gubernatorial bet in the coming polls, supported Padaca’s disclosure of the reshuffle.

“Although we have an untainted trust in the Comelec, we vouch for the reshuffling of local poll registrars to assure the honest conduct of the voting and counting,” Gambito said.

Gambito will be running against former Professional Regulations Commissioner Ruth Padilla, the wife of incumbent Rep. Carlos Padilla, for governor of Nueva Vizcaya.

Rep. Padilla will seek re-election against outgoing Gov. Luisa Cuaresma.

With Charlie Lagasca