BARMM polls may be postponed

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday raised the possibility of postponing the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections on Sept. 14,  if the voting centers in the region will be submerged in flood and people will not be able to vote.

“There are certain areas, such as in Maguindanao and Cotabato, wherein severe flooding occurs. We are thinking of where people can go to vote, especially if flooding happens in their schools on election day,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia told a press briefing yesterday.

He cited Section 6 of the Omnibus Election Code, which allows a resetting or postponement of election in areas affected by force majeure where people may not be able to vote.

“If election paraphernalia are destroyed, there is nothing that we can use for the election. We have to postpone the election. But at this point, we are not seeing that kind of scenario,” Garcia said.

He added that the Comelec started deploying last week ballots and other election materials to Tawi-Tawi and Basilan, the farthest provinces.

This week, the poll body is set to deliver the materials to four other provinces.