The Commission on Elections on Thursday, resolved to deputize members and trainees of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Region 10 and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to serve as Special Board of Election Tellers in connection with the special Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections tomorrow, December 15, 2007.
This move, according to COMELEC Resolution 8389, is meant to preclude the “possibility that the teachers who were the original members of the Board of Election Tellers (BETs) in Barangays of affected municipalities in the Province of Lanao del Sur, Shariff Kabunsuan and Sulu will not serve this coming December 15, 2007 Special Elections because of rampant and widespread threats, harassments, and intimidation against them.”
The poll body added that they resorted to deputize the PNP in the affected areas for poll duties in order to prevent the recurrence of violent incidents and failure of elections. ###
