• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The local absentee voting (LAV) starts on April 28, with 1,880 voters, comprised mostly of police and military personnel in Negros Occidental, Provincial Election Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said on Friday (April 25).
The voters will select 12 senators and one party-list organization using automated counting machines (ACMs), according to the Commission on Elections.
The LAV runs from April 28 to 30, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Comelec has approved 57,689 LAV voters, which include 29,030 military personnel, 23,448 police personnel, 4,206 government employees, and 1,005 members of the media, all over the country.
In a forum organized by the Philippine Information Agency, Ananoria said the online voting for overseas Filipino workers already started last week.
Ananoria also announced the complete delivery of ACMs in Negros Occidental, which is being stored in a Comelec hub, and being secured by the police.
He said they will start sending the 2,048 ACMs to the various ellection offices in Negros Occidental on April 28 and 29, with the final testing and sealing slated on May 7.
A total of 151 ACMs have been allotted for contingency units in case the counting machines will have a breakdown.
Ananoria also said they established a technical hub in the province to repair defective machines and its accessories.
The official ballots will arrive on May 1 and 2, he added.
Negros Occidental has a total of 2,009,564 registered voters, making the province the sixth vote-rich province in the country. | GB
