MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking to hold the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in Marawi City on September.
According to Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez, there is a proposal before the Comelec en banc regarding the holding of the village and youth polls in the conflict-hit city.
“It has been proposed at the (Commission) en banc, but it’s not yet approved,” Jimenez said in an interview.
“Kasi na-evaluate na ang situation and mukhang stable na ang area (We have evaluated the situation and it seems the area is now stable.) As soon as it becomes possible to conduct free and fair elections (in Marawi), ‘yun ang basehan natin (that is our basis),” Jimenez said.
He noted they will be conducting information campaign to let the people know about the holding of the polls, in case the en banc approves the proposal.
“Ang voters ng Marawi, kailangan lang siguro ng (Marawi City voters just need) massive information campaign sometime in August. Kailangan lang maabot sila ng information (For them to gain information is the only thing needed),” the Comelec said.
Based on Comelec data, there are a total of 675,730 barangay voters in Lanao del Sur.
Of the number, 448,044 are barangay regular voters while youth voters are 227,686. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
