The Commission on Elections (Comelec) ban preventing incumbent barangay officials and candidates for the incoming Nov. 25 village polls from distributing relief goods to thousands of earthquake victims would pose a “logistical nightmare” as Bohol is still recovering from the Oct. 15 7.2 magnitude earthquake, several sources have expressed fears. This came even as Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has declared tomorrow (Oct. 28) as a national holiday in view of the conduct of the nationwide barangay elections as scheduled. The President’s declaration does not exclude Bohol, therefore Bohol is also on holiday tomorrow, legal sources said. Comelec Resolution No. 9804, promulgated Oct. 24, setting forth the shift of barangay election date to Nov. 25, provides that “No relief or other goods for distribution shall be released and coursed to any incumbent barangay official who has filed or intends to file his certificate of candidacy or to any incumbent barangay official whose spouse or member of his family within the second civil degree of affinity or consanguinity has filed or intends to file his certificate of candidacy.”

The Resolutions added that “No candidate or his or her spouse or member of his family within the second civil degree of affinity or consanguinity shall, directly or indirectly, participate in the distribution of any relief or other goods to the victims of the calamity or disaster. Any such participation shall likewise be treated as an election offense of “vote buying” as defined by Section 261 (a) 1 and shall be a ground for disqualification under Section 68 of the same Code.” Reacting to the issuance of Comelec Resolution No. 9804, lawyer Lord “Popot” Marapao IV, the most sought-after election lawyer in Bohol and chief legal consultant to the Office of Cong. Rene Relampagos, lamented that the Comelec “may have failed to consider the fact that in times of calamity, barangay officials are in the front line in the distribution of relief goods as they know better those who need help the most.” “I have been to various barangays in the first district distributing relief goods and I cannot discount the fact that we really need barangay officials in speeding up delivery of relief goods to earthquake victims,” Marapao said during an interview.

He said the Comelec Resolution appears to him to be too broad as it covers not only incumbent barangay officials and their immediate family members but also those who intend to file their certificate of candidacy (COC) for the Nov. 25 barangay elections in Bohol. Per original schedule, elections will be held tomorrow in more than 40,000 barangays in the country except in the province of Bohol and in Zamboanga City, which was left in ruins by Muslim terrorists after rogue MNLF fighters stormed the city, burned houses, and shot to death scores of residents last month. Bohol was hit by a devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Oct. 15 leaving more than 200 persons dead and 600 others injured and damaging major road networks and bridges, with estimated damage cost now standing at P5.4 billion, according to the latest report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). As the election drew near, Bohol officials scrambled to change the election date, passing a unanimous resolution with the Comelec which sought for the postponement of barangay election here.

Comelec, in an en banc resolution, resolved to consider the appeal of Bohol officials led by Gov. Edgar M. Chatto and moved the Oct. 28 barangay election to Nov. 25. The poll-body has also set the official campaign period from Nov. 15 to Nov. 23, 2013. Political hopefuls in Bohol who missed the Oct. 17 deadline for the filing of COCs are given Oct. 28 to 29, 2013 as extension dates for the filing of their certificate of candidacy. According to Marapao, he feels uncomfortable with the issuance of Comelec Resolution No. 9084 considering that the crisis here is far from over, with the Provincial Government of Bohol not letting up of round-the-clock relief and rescue operations. As of yesterday, Capitol has dispatched some 250,000 relief goods (in family packs) to more than 380,000 Boholanos who were displaced by the Oct. 15 tremor. “I know how hard our government is working to bring aid and relief to our people, and since Comelec is precluding barangay officials from helping rebuild Bohol, it would trigger a logical nightmare in the delivery of relief goods,” Marapao said.

Meanwhile, the Comelec, in issuing Resolution No. 9084, explained that the “postponement will secure to the full extent the safety of the electorate by allowing the Local Government Units (LGUs) concerned to thoroughly inspect the structural integrity of the school buildings designated as voting centers throughout Bohol and to afford the Commission sufficient time to establish makeshift polling centers should they be found unfit for use.” “The conduct of the election requires the full cooperation of the LGUs and the unhindered utilization of their man power, resources and machinery; that pursuing the elections in Bohol as scheduled can affect and/or prejudice the ongoing relief and rehabilitation of the victims of the earthquake, to which we concede is of primordial importance.” The poll-body noted that the “geological condition in Bohol is expected to stabilize in the next 2-3 weeks according to PHIVOLCS. That postponing the scheduled elections will afford the people of Bohol time to rebuild their homes and for their family lives to normalize. This will also provide them time to recover from the trauma, stress and psychological effects of the October 15, 2013 earthquake and its aftershocks, and thus ensure that their collective electoral judgment is not compromised and truly reflective of their true will.”

The Comelec admitted that it “has no knowledge of the capability of the Philippine National Red Cross to fully carry out the provision of the above paragraph and so as not to prejudice and/or interrupt the ongoing rehabilitation and relief operations, the Philippine National Red Cross shall administer and disburse such releases for the said activities through the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) including the respective Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (LDRRMC) and in accordance with the existing mechanism for relief operations provided for in Republic Act No. 10121.”

RA No. 10121 strengthens the institutionalization of the NDRRMC. (MIKE ORTEGA LIGALIG)