Comelec exec: Moves to delay Oct 25 polls derailed preparations

A Commission on Election (Comelec) official said Tuesday that the previous moves by Congress to postpone the October 25 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections took its toll on the preparations for the grassroots polls. At a press briefing, Commissioner Armando Velasco admitted that the poll body had to put the printing of ballots and the bidding for other election paraphernalia "on hold" after bills were filed in both the Senate and the House of Representatives seeking the postponement of the elections to October 2012. "Gumalaw kami, pero concentrated kami sa training. But the printing, the bidding, hinold namin, dahil baka nga hindi matuloy ‘yung elections. Sayang lang ang gagamitin nating pondo," Velasco said. (Our efforts were mostly concentrated on training. The printing and the bidding were put on hold on the possibility that the elections might be postponed. The funds that will be used will be put to waste.) Velasco likewise admitted that the printing of official ballots were done already behind schedule since the Comelec did not want to waste money in case the grassroot polls were deferred by Congress. "Late na tayo nag-print. On the part of the commission, ayaw naming masayang ‘yung pera kung magpiprint na kami ng official ballots pero hindi naman pala matutuloy. Kaya medyo delayed ang preparations," he said. (The printing was delayed. On the part of the commission, we don't want to spend money on ballot-printing when there is a possibility that the elections will be postponed. That why the preparations were delayed.) The National Printing Office (NPO) was only given 16 days instead of the original 45 days to print the official ballots for Monday’s barangay and SK elections, according to Velasco. Grassroots polls in 2,460 of the 42,025 barangays in the country were postponed Monday, primarily due to the delay in the delivery of election materials and the damage caused by Typhoon Juan in parts of northern Luzon. Months before Monday’s polls, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman filed two separate measures in Congress seeking the postponement of the grassroots election to October 2012, saying that such a move will save a lot of money that can be spent on priority government projects. Nothing came out of the bills as the polls pushed through on Monday. On Tuesday, the Comelec created a fact-finding body to look into the causes of the delays in the deliveries of election paraphernalia in more than 2,400 barangays nationwide, which resulted in the postponement of polls in some areas. (See: Comelec to probe poll delays in 2,460 barangays) — RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV