Aquino asked to declare Oct. 26 or 27 as holiday for special polls

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday asked President Benigno Aquino III to declare October 26 or 27 as special non-working holiday in areas where special barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls will be conducted. The request was contained in Comelec Resolution 9083 that was issued Monday, the day of the synchronized SK and barangay elections. "The Comelec hereby resolves to request His Excellency President Benigno Simoen Aquino III to declare October 26 or 27 as a special non-working holiday in barangays where special barangay and SK elections will be held," the resolution reads. Earlier in the day, the Comelec asked the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to authorize local officials in affected areas to declare as holiday the day of the rescheduled barangay and SK elections. According to Comelec Election and Barangay Affairs Department director Teofisto Elnas, 1,732 or 1.42 percent of the 42,025 villages nationwide were unable to conduct elections on Monday because of the late delivery of poll materials and the damage caused by typhoon Juan in some areas. Comelec Resolution 9078 says that if the election paraphernalia for a particular precinct fail to arrive at noon of October 25, elections will be held on the next feasible day. Section 5 of the Omnibus Election Code says that an election can only be postponed "for any serious cause such as violence, terrorism, loss or destruction of election paraphernalia or records, force majeure, and other analogous causes of such a nature that the holding of a free, orderly and honest election should become impossible in any political subdivision." The poll body, however, is only given 30 days to schedule the election in a certain area. - KBK, GMANews.TV