COMELEC MAY SET UP VOTING PRECINCT IN SITIO KAPIHAN

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) plans to set up a voting precinct in Sitio Kapihan, Surigao del Norte, which was previously governed by the controversial group Socorro Bayanihan Services, Inc. (SBSI).

Comelec Chairman George Garcia announced this plan during a voters’ registration event in Sitio Kapihan, a mountainous portion of Socorro town, on Thursday.

“The Comelec is looking at this. Bakit hindi natin kayanin na maglagay ng voting precinct rito sa Sitio Kapihan?'' Garcia said, drawing cheers from residents, including SBSI members.

(The Comelec is looking at this. Why don’t we put up a voting precinct here in Sitio Kapihan?)

“This place has around 2,000 registered voters. Why do we have to make them travel all the way to the city just so they can vote when we can bring the voting here?'' Garcia added.

Sitio Kapihan gained national attention after former members of the group and other residents accused the SBSI leadership of sexual abuse and forcing child marriages before a Senate inquiry last September.

Since then, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has revoked its Protected Area Community-Based Resource Management Agreement (PACBRMA) with SBSI for the following reasons:

· establishment of settlement/residence in the protected area;

· establishment of checkpoints strictly regulating the entry of people;

· failure to submit monthly, quarterly or annual report; and

· establishment of infrastructures that is not in the plan, like new access roads, basketball court, wave pool, recording studio, radio station, among others.

The PACBRMA allows tenured migrant groups, in this case the SBSI members, to develop and conserve a portion of a protected area for 25 years.

Following the cancellation, the DENR said it would work with other government agencies and local authorities for the reintegration and resettlement of around 1,425 households.

Asked if the relocation mandate would go against Comelec’s plan of establishing a voting precinct, Garcia responded that ''Comelec’s authority is to ensure that voters are able to vote.''

''That no one is left behind. We think there is another issue [involving the area], pero ang Comelec, walang pakialam sa issues na iyon (but the Comelec won’t dip its hands in other issues),” Garcia said.

“As far as we are concerned, our fellow Filipinos need to vote, regardless of their income status, where they are from, or what their future would be. If we don’t let them vote, then that would be disenfranchisement, and that would violate our Constitution,'' he added.

“We won’t be involved in the mandate of other government agencies in the same vein that they should not get involved in our mandate.'' — VBL, GMA Integrated News

This article Comelec may set up voting precinct in Sitio Kapihan was originally published in GMA News Online.

2024-04-25T14:01:49Z dg43tfdfdgfd