THE Commission on Election (Comelec) said that all Filipinos, regardless of ethnicity as long as a registered voter, shall not be denied to exercise his right to vote.
In fact, the poll body will put up special polling precincts for natives or commonly called “Indigenous Peoples” (IP) in areas where there is a big presence of IPs or areas with bigger population, according to Comelec Commissioner George Erwin Garcia.
According to Garcia, they will also assign Comelec personnel who will supervise the elections who can understand the culture and language/dialect of the IPs.
This is to ensure that the voting process of IPs will be smooth and problem-free.
It is estimated that about 10-20 percent of the country’s total population is comprised of IPs.
Meanwhile, aside from special polling precincts for IPs, there will also be emergency polling precincts on the first floor of a polling center that will cater to the elderly, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and pregnant women.
This is to provide convenience to voters from these sectors so that they don’t have to be inconvenienced in going up to their original voting precinct, whether it is located at the second or third floor of the polling center.
This is aside from the isolation polling precincts for voters who will show signs or symptoms of ailments such as fever, coughs or colds once they are at the polling centers to vote.