THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is optimistic of another high voter turnout in Dagupan for the May 12, 2025 midterm polls, following an 89% turnout rate in the city during the 2022 national elections.

There are currently 144,481 registered voters in the city, including 438 PDLs (Persons Deprived of Liberty) detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology district jail.

City Elections Officer Michael Franks Sarmiento, in a press conference last week, said the 289 members of the electoral board – with three members in each electoral precincts – including their respective technical support staff are fully prepared to discharge their functions.

The 163 designated Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) and 23 back-up units were already distributed in the voting centers and are under 24/7 security by the police. The ACM machines are under lease by the Comelec from MIRU Technology Solutions of Korea, which replaced the Smartmatic system used in elections from 2010 to 2022.

The Dagupan Electric Corporation, meanwhile, assured stable and full power supply from five days before and five days after the election.

Sarmiento also noted that the ACMs have built-in batteries that could last for 12 hours in case of a power outage.

Regular voting hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., while senior citizens, persons with disabilities and pregnant mothers can start casting their ballots from 5:00 a.m.

The campaign period ended on May 10, and any act of campaigning, including the distribution of sample ballots and paraphernalia indicating the name of the candidates were already prohibited by Sunday.

The Comelec official said they received one complaint for vote-buying, but this was not investigated as there was no substantial evidence submitted. (Leonardo Micua)

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