IN a bid to minimize the risk of possible infections during the forthcoming Palawan plebiscite, the Commission on Election (Comelec) will be piloting its isolation polling place (IPP) for voters suspected to be carriers of Covid-19 during the conduct of the exercise.
Comelec Commissioner Antonio Kho said they came up with the measure to allow those with Covid-like symptoms such as fever to still cast their votes during the plebiscite on March 13, 2021 for the possible ratification of Republic Act (RA) No. 11259, or the Act Dividing the Province of Palawan into three provinces.
“They won’t be allowed to vote in the regular precincts. As long as you reach that temperature threshold and it is possible you have Covid-19 and its symptoms, they should vote in the IPPs,” Kho said in an online news briefing on Monday.
Glory Perez-Reyes of the Comelec’s Office of the Deputy Executive Director for Operations (DEDO) said those whose temperature exceeds 37.5 degrees or those who answered “yes” to the Covid-19 symptoms in the health declaration form will be asked to vote in the IPP.
“After evaluation, they shall be escorted to an isolation polling place, where they shall be allowed to cast their votes,” Reyes said.
Comelec authorized the use of IPPs under its Resolution No. 10687 during the Palawan plebiscite.
The said facility may be one of the classrooms in a building separate from the other buildings of the voting center or a makeshift/temporary facility, “which shall be strategically located near its entrance and the medical personnel deployed thereat.”
Comelec Health Service Division Chief Zosimo R. Sallao, Jr. said each voting center should be able to accommodate at least one IPP, which could accommodate at least 5 voters, the Plebcom (plebiscite committee), and watchers at any time, while observing the one-meter physical distancing rule.
Over 490,000 voters are expected to participate in the plebiscite, where Comelec is expected to test its pandemic-related protocols for the conduct of the 2022 National and Local elections.
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