Watchdogs ready; Comelec takes control of Cebu jails
he Cebu Citizens Involvement and Maturation in People’s Empowerment and Liberation (C-CIMPEL) will receive Election Returns in behalf of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and the National Citizen’s Movement for Free Election.
As an accredited election watch dog, C-Cimpel will get copies of election returns (ER) for local candidates and national candidates.
The Namfrel ERs will be feed to the election watchdog’s national quick count,
C-Cimpel’s operations is based in the San Carlos Seminary in barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.
Marilu Chiongbian, executive director of C-Cimpel said they have poll watchers in 90 percent of Cebu’s more than 3,000 clustered precincts.
Chiongbian said they are confident the (Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines in all the 3,169 clustered precincts will work as those experiencing glitches in last Wednesday’s final testing and sealing have been replaced already.
Article continues after this advertisementComelec provincial Election Supervisor Eddie Aba said they replaced 30 malfunctioning PCOS machines last Friday.
Article continues after this advertisementJails under Comelec
The Commission on Election issued a memorandum last Friday to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) putting all provincial and city jails under its supervision and control.
Aba said that this is in line with the Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas and Comelec Resolution 9690.
Putting jails in 15 provinces nationwide under Comelec control is meant to ensure that detainees are not spirited away from jails to serve as goons of candidates.
Cebu is not among the 15 provinces which are being closely monitored by DILG and Comelec, but Aba said that he is just following Roxas’s order since there are reports that the inmates were released during election period to serve as private armies of unscrupulous political personalities.
The 15 provinces mentioned in the resolution are Abra, Pangasinan, Ilocas Sur, La Union, Cagayan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Cavite, Masbate, Samar, Misamis Occidental, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Basilan.
“In order to prevent that from happening, I gave a memorandum last Friday to the BJMP,” Aba said.
Releasing of inmates is against section 261 (n) of the Omnibus Election Code which mandates the director of the bureau of prisons, provincial warden, the keeper of the jail or the person or persons required by law to keep prisoners in their custody. /Christine Emily L. Pantaleon, Correspondent
