TACLOBAN CITY- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the region has called on qualified voters to visit their respective elections offices to register as the listing up is to end next week.
Lawyer Felicisimo Embalsado, assistant regional director, said that to accommodate possible rush of registrants with the deadline nearing, the Comelec has extended the registration time from 8 am until 7 pm and from 8 am until 5 pm during weekends.
The registration is to end on September 30, a day before candidates seeking for national and local elective posts in next year’s elections are to file their certificates of candidacy.
“I am calling those who are qualified to register or those who will turn 18 years old on the day of the elections on May 9, 2022 or those who will be 18 years old before May 9, 2022 to register so that you can participate in the democratic processes of choosing our national and local leaders,” he said.
“There will be no extension because we are following a timeline,” Embalsado added.
In Congress, measures to move for another month of the registration is now pending.
Since the listing up started January of this year, 262,555 prospective voters have registered at their respective Comelec offices.
And of this number, 118,820 were new registrants. The rest were either for activation of their voter’s registration or transfer of their voting place.
In Tacloban City, an average of at least 200 registrants visit the Comelec office.
So far, over 6,500 have been enlisted at the city polling office. Tacloban City, at present, has 134,681 registered voters.
Eastern Visayas, composed of six provinces, is expected to have more than 3 million registered and qualified voters who are to troop to their polling precincts in next year’s elections.
(LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)
Comelec exec asks qualified registrants to visit poll offices as listing up to end on Sept. 30
DepEd recommends 18 schools to pilot face-to-face
Students still on distant learning method
18 public schools in Eastern Visayas to join in piloting face-to-face classes for this school term. Due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19, schools across the country are practicing distant learn- ing system. Photo shows an elementary school in Navo- tas how a classroom will look like following the face-to-
face method. (DepEd)
TACLOBAN CITY- At least 18 public schools here in the region will be piloting the face-to-face classes for this school year.
The Department of Education (DepEd) in the region, however, declined to give the names of these schools saying this still needs approval from their central office.
“There is no final (decision) yet as these are just recommended schools reason why we cannot disclose these schools,” Jasmin Calzita, DepEd regional information officer, said.
However, of the 18 schools recommended by the DepEd in the region, nine in Samar province; six are in Leyte province; and three in Southern Leyte.
The schools where face-to-face classes are to be piloted are located in areas identified to be ‘low risk’ in terms of cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Approval of the local government units where these schools are located is also needed for the face-to-face classes will be piloted.
While Eastern Visayas is largely considered to be a low risk areas, distant learning method is being enforce by the DepEd.
In Tacloban City, schools division superintendent Mariza Magan said that there will be no face-to-face teaching in all schools in the city.
Tacloban continues to experience high cases of COVID-19 with the Department of Health confirming presence of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
(JOEY A. GABIETA w/LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
Deadline for filing COCs is until 5 pm only of October 8, says Comelec
MAASIN CITY-Those in the running for various elective positions at the local level in the province, city, and municipalities, better be informed that the last hour on the last day of filing for certificates of candidacy is until 5 pm.
It is no longer midnight on the last filing day, unlike before, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
“Comelec has passed Resolution 10717, the guidelines for filing certificates of candidacy, from October 1 to 8, from eight in the morning to five in the afternoon. It is no longer like before when COC filing can still be done by 12 midnight, no more,” Atty. Antonio Gulay, provincial election supervisor clarified.
Regarding substitution of candidates, this can only be possible on situations when the filer died, withdraws his/her candidacy, or be disqualified, and the deadline on this is on November 15, Gulay said during a Kapihan sa PIA forum.
There will be no substitution for independent candidates, he added.
Meanwhile, for new voters in the city, Atty. Joshua Margate, city election officer, appealed that they should not wait for the last day of registration on September 30, as has been the culture, but make use of the remaining days of the month.
The City Comelec Office is open from 8 a.m. 7 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 8 a.m. 5 p.m. for Saturdays and holidays in order to cater new registrants, which include those who will turn 18 years old on May 9, 2022, transferees from other places into the city, and change of names, especially for newly-married ladies, Margate explained.
There were 57,000 registered voters in the city during the 2019 elections, but this number was reduced to 50,000 after cleansing of lists for those who never voted twice and those who died.
New registrants, however, numbered about 5,000 at the last count, so it could be possible there will be the same number of voters, more or less, in the city for next year’s pandemic-themed voting, Margate shared.
(LDL/MMP/PIA-Southern Leyte)
San Juanico lighting project hit a snag anew with the bolt replacement works
Supposed to be completed early this year
TACLOBAN CITY, – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPHW) and the Department of Tourism (DOT) issued a joint statement informing the public that the long awaited San Juanico Aesthetic Lighting project will be delayed due to the on-going bolt replacement project.
“In January this year (2021), the DPWH VIII informed the provincial government of Samar and Amigo that they were advised by JICA that there is a need to replace the bolts of the bridge according to Japan standards,” the joint statement said.
“It is noteworthy to mention that the bridge is almost 50 years old and replacement of the bolts to strengthen the bridge takes the top priority,” the statement added.
The replacement of the bolts in the arch portion of the bridge will be completed by the DPWH in December 2021.
Amigo will also be able to complete the remaining five percent of its deliveries by that time.
“The opening of the light and sound of the San Juanico Bridge has been highly anticipated by everyone. At the same time, we call on everyone’s understanding that it is better to err on the side of caution for the safety of our commuters and the public that traverses the bridge,” the statement said.
“Rest assured that all of the concerned parties are working together for the benefit of everyone and for the completion of the necessary activities to showcase the significance and the beauty of the San Juanico Bridge,” it added.
The Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) in 2017 granted the request of the provincial government of Samar and the DOT-8 to fund the San Juanico Bridge Aesthetic amounting to P80 million.
The project was awarded to Amigo Entertainment Technologies Incorporated in March 2019.
As of August 2021, Amigo was able to implement 95 percent of its commitment.
As counterpart to the project the provincial government, contributed a project equity amounting to P15 million awarded to Samelco II and Asiaphil, Incorporated for the installation of a separate high voltage power supply facility that will be used for the operation of the lights and sound show.
Various dry-run testing were also conducted to make sure that expected technical issues will be addressed and resolved.
The project was earlier targeted to be completed earlier this year but with series of problems encountered notably the restrictions caused by the coronavirus disease pandemic, its completion was affected.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
