Hearings set in Negros Oriental on calls to delay barangay, SK polls
DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has set from June 27 to 29 the public hearings here on the proposal to postpone the holding of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in Negros Oriental and advised residents to put in writing whether or not they would agree to the move.
Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, Comelec’s acting director in Central Visayas, said the poll body would want these sentiments formalized in time for the public hearings because even if these events would be open to all, not everyone would have a chance to speak.
The public hearings were an offshoot of the calls from the Senate and some national government officials to exclude Negros Oriental from the barangay and SK polls set on Oct. 30 to avert more incidents of threats, intimidation, and violence in the province that were highlighted by the killing of Gov. Roel Degamo and nine other persons in Pamplona town last March 4.
“Given the time constraints during the conduct of the public hearings, it is best that people submit their individual or collective stands through a position paper, a resolution, or any written form that carries their signatures,” Castillano said in a statement on Friday.
The Comelec has invited to the public hearings, as “primary election stakeholders,” representatives from the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Department of Education, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, and local government officials.
—KAYE BRIER
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