QC scrambles to distribute poll materials

MANILA, Philippines – Cranky teachers, disoriented multi-cab drivers, and a flat tire greeted the Quezon City Treasurer’s Office on Sunday, May 12, as election paraphernalia were distributed to precincts for Monday’s (May 13) elections.

Teachers from Fairview Elementary School, who arrived and lined up at the City Hall as early as 6 a.m., said they were annoyed due to delay in transferring the election paraphernalia to the police-escorted multi-cab that will take them to their precincts.

The drivers of the multi-cab, who were hired by the local government, were not cooperating with the police and officials of the Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) since the allowance were not clarified, they claim.

Danny Tikar, one of the drivers, said they were told their allowance would be P1,700, but on the day of the transferring of paraphernalia they were told it was reduced to P500.

It was not until around 8 am when the city officials started loading the police-escorted multi-cabs with teachers carrying election paraphernalia.

But the series of unfortunate events did not end there: one of the multi-cabs suffered a flat tire on its way to its assigned polling precinct.

‘Caught off guard’

Quezon City Treasurer Edgar Villanueva said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) did not approve their request for a two-day distribution of election paraphernalia so they had to change their original plan for the delivery of supplies at the last minute.

“During the past elections, Comelec has been granting our request for a two-day distribution of election paraphernalia because Quezon City is the largest city in NCR and has the biggest number of clustered precincts with 1,266,” Vilannueva told Rappler.

Villanueva recalled this was the first time that Quezon City had a one-day distribution of election paraphernalia, as it has always been two days since the elections in 2004.

Under Section 27B of Resultion 9640 of the Comelec’s General Instructions of National and Local Elections, “except when authorized to do so earlier by the Commission, the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) shall get the forms, documents and supplies early in the morning of Election.”

The Quezon City Treasure’s Office filed a request on April 10 to the Comelec for a two-day distribution of election paraphernalia but was not “categorically answered” until Friday, May 11, according to Vilannueva.

The letter Villanueva received from the Comelec only allowed for “an early delivery of supplies within 24-hours before the election” considering “the large number of precincts in Quezon City.”

The distribution of election paraphernalia in Quezon City will run from 7 am until 7 pm, but will be flexible for changes. All distributed supplies will be kept and guarded by police in each polling precinct.

Villanueva said the Quezon City Treasurer’s Office aims to distribute all election supplies by Sunday night. – Rappler.com

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