By Ferdinand Patinio/PNA
MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be utilizing the ballot boxes that were used during the 2016 polls in the forthcoming mid-term elections.
The poll body on Wednesday ordered the city/municipal Election Officers (EOs) to empty the ballot boxes of their contents and properly transfer them on or before Friday.
“The proceedings shall be public and shall be held in the place, date, and time as indicated in the Notice,” read Comelec Resolution No. 10515.
The Comelec said the ballot boxes will be examined thoroughly to determine which will be re-used in the May 13 polls and which will be used as storage ballot boxes.
“The ballot boxes that are more damaged and appear to be unfit to be reused shall be used as the storage ballot box,” the poll body said.
The Resolution also states that “for every four ballot boxes opened, one of them will be used as the storage ballot box,” which will hold all the contents of the four ballot boxes.
The poll body ordered that the contents of the ballot boxes must be wrapped in Kraft paper or other appropriate material.
More than 90,000 clustered precincts used one ballot box each in the 2016 polls.
On the other hand, the Comelec noted that ballots boxes involved in electoral protest cases will not be opened.
