Troops, poll personnel ready for Monday polls

Private Nova Villa Guerrero, 25,  is nervous after being assigned in a potential hotspot  under the Commission on Elections (Comelec) watch list.

Guerrero said this is her first time to be among the more than 746 personnel to be deployed for the elections in towns and cities of Cebu province.

“Let’s just hope and pray that nothing serious happens in our area. Security conscious as always. Practic maximum tolerance, of course,” she said.

Most Central Command (Centcom) troops will be deployed in Tuburan town in Cebu’s west coast where 45 soldiers will augment 21 local police personnel.

Tuburan has been listed under the election watchlist areas (EWAS).

At  least 18 towns and component cities of Cebu  were declared as EWAS.

Bogo City, Danao City, Dumanjug, Toledo City and Tuburan top the list.

The towns of Barili, Compostela, Consolacion, Daanbantayan, Ginatilan, Medellin, Ronda, San Fernando, San Remigio, Sogod, Tabogon, Tabuelan and Pinamungajan were classifed  as “moderate.”

Tuburan police chief Florendo Fajardo said the area is still “manageable.”

Final testing

In Cebu City, two polling precincts in Toong Integrated School and Labangon Elementary School await final testing and sealing of their PCOS units.

Cebu City South District Comelec officer Ferdinand Gujilde said about 16 polling precincts in Cebu City underwent final testing and sealing last Thursday.  A multi-sectoral task force was set up for tomorrow’s elections.

There are 72 public schools that will serve as voting centers for 592 polling precincts in Cebu City.

Express lanes are set aside for persons with disabilities and senior citizens but priority  numbers  will be issued to voters.

Generator units are on standby in case of a ppower outage.

The Visayan Electric company has  assured uninterrupted power supply in Metro Cebu tomorrow. With Correspondent Jose Santino Bunachita and UP Intern Apple Ta-as