By MART D. SAMBALUD
Davao Today
PANABO CITY— Prolonged power outages have angered first-time registrants during the city’s continuing voter’s registration at the Commission on Election.
“I don’t understand why we need to suffer like this. Comelec should have prepared a contingency plan to lessen the impact of power interruptions,” Sandra Guzman, 18, a college student told DavaoToday in an interview.
Guzman scored Comelec-Panabo for its lack of preparation saying that “power outages have led to longer queues and humid temperature.”
First time registrant Jaime Lucsin, 20, also complained that the power interruptions have kept him waiting for longer hours.
Lucsin said he found it difficult to travel back home and return the next day because his “transportation allowance is very limited.”
Panabo City Election Officer Abdul Kadir Tambun told DavaoToday, “the power interruptions have disrupted operations since we don’t have a generator sets.”
“It is the first time that the COMELEC registration was flooded with registrants yet only ninety-two (92) were officially registered due to the blackouts,” Tambun said.
The May 6-7 voter registration has listed a total of 199 applicants.
Republic Act 10367, otherwise known as the Mandatory Biometrics Registration Act of 2013, states that voters who fail to submit for validation prior to the May 2016 elections shall be deactivated from the voters’ list and shall not be allowed to vote. (Mart D. Sambalud/davaotoday.com)
