BAGUIO CITY (PIA) - -  The Commission on Election – Cordillera (COMELEC – CAR) is  all set for the conduct of the October 30, 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Election(BSKE).

COMELEC – CAR acting spokesperson and COMELEC Baguio Election Officer Atty. John Paul Martin  assured  this during the Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CRDRRMC) Pre – Disaster Risk Assessment (PDRA) virtual meeting on  October  16  to look into BSKE 2023 preparations.

For Cordillera, Martin shared that there are 1,094,183 registered voters for the barangay elections and 367,886 SK registered voters  who are expected  to cast their vote in 1,405 voting centers all over the region.

Martin  announced that registered voters can cast their vote on  October 30 from 7:00AM up to 3:00PM. Election results will be collated manually.  

There will be two official ballots, one each for the barangay and the SK election. Registered voters  who are 15 – 17 years old will only be given the official ballot for SK. Those  18  to  30 years old voters will get two ballots (one for Barangay and one for SK).  Voters  who are 31 years old and above will only be given the official ballot for barangay election, Martin  said added.

The Police Regional Office – Cordillera (PRO – Cor) also assured that in partnership with the Armed Forces of the Philippines,  peace and order preparations are all set including the deployment and contingency plans.

A generally peaceful election in Cordillera is expected  with both COMELEC – CAR and PRO – Cor reporting only 14 barangays (13 in Abra and 1 in Kalinga) out of the 1,177 barangays in the region   listed under “yellow” category   due to their history of election- related incidents.

Department of Education – Cordillera also  assured that the list of  the 14,920 teachers  who will  serve  during the  election  was already submitted to the COMELEC and a memorandum  has  been issued to the said teachers as well as to the schools that will  serve  as polling centers.

PAGASA Baguio also reported  that no tropical cyclone or other weather system  disturbance  is  forecasted so far   up to  election day. However,  he  advises  voters to cast their vote early as the region is still experiencing local thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon.

The CRDRRMC chaired by  Office of Civil Defense Director Albert Mogol convened the  PDRA meeting to look into the preparations for the 2023 BSKE, and as a pro – active approach  for needed preparedness plans and actions from the Council’s response cluster member agencies. (JDP/CCD-PIA CAR)