Comelec ready to respond to ‘last-minute’ hiccups for May 13 polls

MANILA, Philippines — Ten days before the May 13 elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it is ready to respond to any last-minute problem they may encounter during the midterm polls.

“There are still some issues. We saw [that] with the markers (and other) last-minute hiccups. But again our preparations are such that we seem to be well-placed to respond to these last-minute problems,” Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said Friday in a press briefing.

Jimenez also mentioned how the poll body was able to “stay within the time frames” of their preparations for the elections.

“Overall, ang assessment natin sa preparatory activities is that we managed to stay within time frames. Wala tayong pangamba ngayon na baka madelay ang elections dahil meron tayong hindi nagawa,” he said.

(Overall, our assessment is that we managed to stay within the time frames for the preparatory activities. We don’t have any fears now that there may be delays because we’ve prepared well. )

“So I think that’s a good thing considering the scope of the elections,” he added.

Jimenez said this after some markers dispatched by the poll body to its field offices for the May polls were reported to have “blotting” problems.

The Comelec official said they have already acted on the matter and will send replacement markers.

“There are some pens that need to be recalled, but we will be replacing them prior to election day. Aabot ‘yon (We will make it on time). I think there are almost a million marking pens that have been ordered already and they will be shipped out in due time,” Jimenez said. /ee

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