CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Traffic Management Committee (TMC) in Cebu City is encouraging all Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Election (BSKE) 2023 candidates holding their “miting de avance” outdoors to have it on October 28, 2023.
In a statement sent by Councilor Rey Gealon, TMC head, to CDN Digital on Friday, October 6, the TMC received numerous requests for road closure across several barangays in Cebu City for holding their respective “miting de avance.”
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Gealon said that they received different dates, different times, and different areas to hold miting de avance.
He said that it would be a concern to the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) personnel who are deployed and assigned in areas “where traffic management is indispensable.”
“We cannot cover everything if we spread ourselves too thin,” Gealon said.
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Uniform date
With this, the TMC board decided to set a “uniform” date for all those who will conduct the said activity to hold it on October 28, the last day of the campaign period.
“Conditions are in place, though. For one, the holding of their “miting de avance” must be after the peak hours in the evening. And no stage be set-up on the road, but rather off it, to give way to fire and other emergency vehicles should the need arise,” Gealon said.
The TMC head said the BSKE bets could conduct it around 9 p.m.
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Indoor venues can be hold anytime
“But if they would be holding it somewhere else, like gyms, evacuation centers or any other indoor venue, they can always hold it anytime,” Gealon told CDN Digital on Sunday, October 8.
Gealon said on Friday that the uniform date would be on October 23, but he clarified to CDN Digital on Sunday that the final date for the outdoor miting de avance is slated on October 28 and not 23. The latter date was a “clerical error.”
The campaign period would start on October 19, while the election day would be on October 30.
The Commission on Elections in Cebu City said in an earlier report candidates caught campaigning before the campaign period could be disqualified.