Comelec reproduces hurricane-damaged Bicol poll documents

Chairman of the Commission on Elections George Erwin Garcia (INQUIRER / NINO JESUS ​​ORBETA)

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is reproducing election documents damaged by Severe Tropical Storm Christina (international name: Trami) in parts of the Bicol region.

“We are in close coordination with the regional director and have already been informed of the locations where our materials have been compromised. So now we are in the process of reproducing the data,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said partly in Filipino during a press briefing on Tuesday.

“This is not a problem because we always have a backup at the main office. Everyone is here,” Garcia added.

Garcia added that they need to find out what will happen to registered voters from July 15 to September 30 who have had a hearing before the Election Registration Board (ERB).

Garcia noted that they will have to replace all election-related materials, including supplies, laptops, office supplies and office furniture, damaged in the region’s 12 municipalities.

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The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in a report on Tuesday that 7,134,954 people or 1,789,276 families were affected by Christina.

A total of 2,746,214 victims reside in the Bicol region.