Sto. Tomas, Batangas plebiscite to push through — Comelec

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez. FAYE ORELLANA / INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) does not see any reason to postpone the plebiscite to turn the municipality of Sto. Tomas, Batangas into a city that is set on Saturday.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said on Thursday that the commission is just waiting for September 7 to proceed with the voting.

“We’re confident that the plebiscite will go without any hitch — all the required documents are in place, the supplies are in place, the teachers have been trained. So we are just waiting for the date itself to happen,” he told reporters.

Jimenez also described the upcoming plebiscite as “cut and dry” given the support from the residents in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

With this, he said that the commission expects a high voter turnout for the plebiscite.

“Normally kapag plebiscite to turn from a municipality to city, usually mataas ang turnout niyan. Especially in this case, we expect na mataas talaga ang turnout kasi more than one week naming sinusuyod yung lugar as in nagpupunta kami sa sulok sulok ng Sto. Tomas, so we expect na mataas ang turnout,” he said.

Indication of results for the plebiscite is expected to be received within 24 hours but the finalization may take longer time as it depends on the arrival of certificates of canvass from barangays, Jimenez said.

The Board of Canvasses in the Municipality of Sto. Tomas would be canvassing the votes for the plebiscite, Jimenesz added. /je