TACLOBAN CITY (PIA) -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Eastern Visayas is all set for the conduct of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on October 30, 2023.

Atty. Felicisimo A. Embalsado, acting regional election director of the Comelec Region 8, assured this during the Preparedness Meeting held Wednesday, October 25, at the Office of Civil Defense, this city.

According to Elbalsado, some 31,548 members of the electoral board and 13,095 members of the board of canvassers are now ready to perform their duties in the barangay and SK elections.

“We are prepared from those who are going to serve like the electoral board, the supervisors, and our supplies have been delivered to the provincial treasurers as well as to the provincial election supervisors,” Embalsado reaffirmed during the Kapihan ha PIA Eastern Visayas on Thursday, Oct. 26.

Comelec 8 has established 10,516 clustered precincts in 3,813 polling centers which are located in 4,365 barangays in 136 municipalities and seven cities across the region.  Eastern Visayas has 4.5 million registered voters including regular and new voters for the SK.

However, Embalsado expressed concern in some areas classified as areas of grave concern due to the presence of intense political rivalries and alleged partisan armed groups.

With the intensified security preparations among the deputized security agencies and the cooperation of the local communities, he is optimistic that the BSKE will be peaceful, honest, and orderly since almost all security forces joined together to assist the Comelec and the Department of Education in the conduct of the BSKE in the region.

The preparedness meeting was attended by members of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) chaired by OCD Regional Director Lord Byron Torrecarion. (MMP/CBA/PIA-8)