- CHERYL G. CRUZ
Simulation exercises were held yesterday by the police at the Bacolod Commission on Elections in preparation for the start of the filing of Certificates of Candidacy today until Oct. 8.
Bacolod Election Officer, Atty. Kathrina Trinio-Caña, said that police officers coordinated with her office and held the SimEx.
She admitted that they were a bit harried in ensuring that the office is ready to accept COCs, considering that they were also focused on the voter registration at the University of St. La Salle Coliseum.
Atty. Ian Lee Ananoria, who assumed as acting provincial Comelec supervisor of Negros Occidental yesterday, said the police also coordinated with him about security in the COC filing.
Caña and Ananoria said they will accept COCs as they come, and no candidate or political group had coordinated with them on specific hour or schedule to hand in the COCs.
They said that under the guidelines of the Comelec this pandemic, only a candidate and two companions will be allowed inside the office to file the COC, and discouraged supporters or spectators.
They said the Comelec does not require a negative RT-PCR from candidates and companions, they should only ensure that they observe minimum health protocols and social distancing.
Meanwhile, Caña refuted reports that the satellite voter registration held Sept. 27 to 30 at the USLS Coliseum was a “super spreader” activity.
In a virtual press conference Sept. 30, Caña stressed that the reason why they held the last few days of the registration in a much bigger space was to accommodate the expected influx of last-minute registrants.
She maintained that they were able to keep order inside the coliseum, and ensured that registrants complied with the health protocols, especially on social distancing. She said there were target registrants per day and they worked until 7 or 8 p.m. to accommodate all those who have secured a number.
Caña said they have no control over what was happening outside the USLS, or those who lined up very early in the morning and violated the 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew hours in Bacolod.
She questioned on when the photos and videos were taken of long queues outside the school, and of reports of people being unloaded from trucks or ambulances.
She admitted that she was asked by the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center to stop the voter registration due to the influx of people, but she said she cannot do so unless ordered by the Comelec main office. — CGC
