Pasay ballot box padlocks stolen

More than a thousand padlocks of ballot boxes, which will be used in the local election in Pasay, were discovered missing after City Treasurer Concepcion Daplas was relieved from her post.

Employees of the City Treasurer’s Office reported the loss of the 1,440 padlocks which were earlier delivered by Commission on Elections (Comelec) main office in Intramuros to Pasay city government last week.

The employees said they did not notice any unusual incident that would indicate that the padlocks were stolen after they were received by the Records Section of the City Treasurer’s Office.

An employee of the Treasurer’s Office hinted the padlocks were deliberately taken and hidden. "It could be an inside job because the (merchandise) were secured inside the Records Section Office," he said.

The Pasay City government will purchase 1,500 new padlocks in the amount of P68.00 per piece to replace the lost padlocks.

Daplas, a supporter of Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad, was relieved by Comelec to ensure impartiality in the conduct of polls.