MAY 4-12 CAMPAIGN PERIOD

DON’T campaign yet, the provincial election supervisor of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Pangasinan has warned.

Election supervisor Marino Salas urged the 44,346 candidates who had filed their certificates of candidacy (COC) for Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections “to just relax, stay calm and keep cool” until the official start of the campaign period on May 4.

In a statement to media, he reminded the candidates not to engage in premature campaign activities for the May 14 elections lest they risk being disqualified should they win.

“They must be careful. With the advanced technology like the cellular phone or CCTVs (closed circuit television) cameras, illegal campaign activities can be easily recorded and sent to us,” Salas said.

He said he has already received complaints about several candidates who have started campaigning in their villages.

Salas also reminded that under the law, each candidate is allowed to spend ₱5 per voter only.

Meanwhile, Salas said the submission of COCs by 44,346 candidates far exceeded their expectation of only 30,000 candidates for the 1,364 barangays in 44 towns and 4 cities in Pangasinan.

The province has 1,799,053 registered voters for barangay posts while there are 683,000 voters (ages from 15 to 30 years) for SK election.

Meanwhile, Salas noted that Pangasinan has more female voters (52 percent of the total registered) than males. However, fewer women number filed candidacies.

The data from the provincial election office showed that 86 percent of candidates for punong barangay (village captain), are male, and only 14 percent are female.

For barangay kagawad (village councilmen) posts, 79 percent of the candidates are male while 21 percent are female.

For SK chairmen, 62 percent are male and 38 percent female, while for kagawad posts 56 percent are male and 44 percent female.  (Eva Visperas)

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments