Comelec, Mindanao generation companies to avoid 'manual voting'

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Mindanao-based power generation companies will meet this weekend to address the energy crisis in the Philippines’ second-largest island. Holding “manual elections" in the island — which is suffering from five to 12 hour blackouts — is not acceptable, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said. Earlier, the National Power Corp. (Napocor) — the Philippines’ largest power producer — proposed the conduct of manual elections in the island. However, the lack of power is “not reason enough to hold manual elections [there]," Larrazabal said. Poll machines to be deployed and used during the May 10 elections come with external batteries that can last up to 16 hours while canvassing centers will be equipped with generators. Mindanao currently lacks 700 megawatts as hydropower plants which produce electricity from water flow dry up due to the El Niño phenomenon. As a result, the Mindanao grid — controlled by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines — has resorted to cutting power in areas. Based on initial discussions with distributors and generation companies, power outages can be resolved, Larrazabal said. However, he refused to reveal plans that the agency might implement in averting the power supply challenges during the election day itself. The Comelec en banc has also instructed its regional directors nationwide to submit the precinct maps to the power companies “so that they know which towns need power on election day," Larrazabal said. In the meantime, Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza said that Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes has presented five options that will help the government with the power crisis in Mindanao. The five options including leasing generator sets to the island will be discussed in two days, Mendoza said during a Malacañang briefing on Tuesday. Besides costs, the options to be pursued include timing, Mendoza added, citing a forecast from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) that said that rains will start in June. The options mulled may no longer need congressional approval, Mendoza said. Another proposal involves encouraging companies to work at night from 10 PM to four to five in the morning, a period in which there is lower demand for electricity, Press Secretary Crispulo Icban said. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV