Melo worried PAL strike may affect ballot delivery

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair Jose Melo has expressed worry that the impending strike of the employees of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) might affect the delivery of the ballots to different provinces nationwide. "Pag inabutan tayo ng strike baka mapilitan tayo by sea, baka kulang din ang facilities nila (If there's a strike, we might be forced to deliver by sea, other airlines might also lack facilities)," Melo said in a chance interview with reporters Thursday. Melo issued the statement after PAL employees filed a strike notice because of the airline's plans to lay off 3,000 workers and outsource three of its non-core units by the end of May. The poll body chief said he expects the strike will affect the cargo handling operations of the airline. But he said that he has already coordinated with the Departmet of Labor and Employment (DoLE) to intervene in the matter. "I was trying to coordinatate with the DOLE to convince the PAL people if they intend to strike, do not strike until election," he said. Earlier in the week, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque assumed jurisdiction over the labor dispute. Aside from this, Melo said he has already ordered for the hastening of the delivery of election paraphernalia. "I ordered our people to speed up the dispersal or deployment of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines, ballot boxes as well as the ballots because... a pending strike at PAL which may affect our movement," he said. Melo said they usually deliver poll materials to areas in Luzon by land but that they have traditionally utilized air carriers in their deliveries to the Visayas and Mindanao. PCOS machines Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said that 23 percent of the ballots for Luzon, 21 percent for Visayas, and 71 percent for Mindanao have already been shipped out. Poll machine provider Smartmatic bagged the contract to deploy the ballots with the help of forwarder Air 21. On the other hand, Larrazabal said 35,279 PCOS machines — 17,077 in the Visayas and 18,202 in Mindanao — are now in their respective hubs in the two regions. In Luzon, a total of 6,538 machines have been delivered as of Monday, Larrazabal said. The PCOS machines must reach their designated precincts three days before the elections for the testing and sealing. The Comelec hired three forwarders — Germalin Enterprises, Ace Logistics, and Argo Forwarders — to transport the poll machines. These forwarders will be held liable if the machines do not reach their locations on time. — RSJ,GMANews.TV