CALL FOR CLEAN POLLS. Various stakeholders pledge not to sell their votes and uphold a clean and honest election during the information drive against vote-buying, vote-selling and violent extremism on the last day of the campaign period for the mid-polls on Saturday (May 11, 2019). (PNA photo by Pamela Mariz Geminiano)
BAGUIO CITY -- Representatives from various sectors here took to the streets a final push against vote- buying and vote-selling on Saturday, two days before the mid-term elections.
“This is to strengthen the resolve of the citizens to fight vote-buying and vote-selling towards a clean election in this city," Marlo Iringan, regional director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Cordillera, said in an interview.
Led by the DILG, the activity started with a motorcade at the central business district and was participated in by different private and government organizations.
A “Kapihan” aired live on local television and radio station and patched to the city’s public address system at the city’s center followed after the motorcade.
Iringan said the campaign aims to protect the electorate from being part of vote-buying, vote-selling, and other unscrupulous practices during elections.
The campaign is supported by the DILG, Baguio City Police Office (BCPO), Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), Sangguniang Kabataan, Liga ng mga Barangay (LnB) and various religious denominations.
In January, the Commission on Elections (Comelec)- Baguio led the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a “vote-buying" and "vote-selling" free mid-term polls.
Through the MOU, various sectors committed to maintain a clean and credible elections.
Defective SD cards, pens replaced
Meanwhile, city election officer Reyman Solbita said one defective SD card was discovered in one of the voting precincts in Barangay Fairview during the final testing and sealing of vote counting machines (VCMs) on Friday.
"The VCM will not function if the SD card embedded in the machine is defective," he said in an interview on the sidelines of the event.
Solbita said the SD cards have been replaced on Saturday, assuring that the VCM at the precinct, where the defective card was discovered, will function on Election Day.
He said there are 230 VCMs for the 230 clustered precincts in Baguio city. Aside from those, there are 23 VCMs on standby at the provincial hub.
Solbita also said the marking pens which were found defective and takes time to dry have been replaced with new ones. (PNA)
