The COMELEC will not be providing accessible polling places for persons with disability and senior citizens in the coming elections but will instead provide all the assistance that they will need.
“As much as we want to provide them with a separate accessible polling place, their number (affected voters) could not reach 600 to 800 in a single barangay,” said Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, provincial election supervisor.
He explained that providing each barangay with one accessible polling place would not be feasible since the number of voters for these proposed special polling precincts would be low.
“What we are doing, just like before, is to provide them with assistance. Here in Cebu, we are coordinating with the NGO Ulan whose main focus are the PWDs. They are also coordinating with DSWS of the city,” Castillano added.
Castillano added that the inclusion of senior citizens would not also justify the creation of accessible polling places since most of them preferred to be prioritized in regular precincts instead of being provided with a separate polling place.
Castillano also clarified that the shortened voting hours was decided by the Comelec because the number of voters have decreased from 1,000 to 800 per polling precinct.
The voting period in May this year will be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. or two hours shorter than in the May 2013 elections.
“Based on voting history, the voter turnout is usually at 80 percent or around 600 voters. This means that the voting is done by 5 p.m.,” Castillano said.
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