Kalinga schoolpoll precincts

By Geraldine G. Dumallig

TABUK, Kalinga -- Out of the 194 schools identified to serve as precincts in the May 2013 automated national elections in the province, 56 need electricity to deliver a credible voting process. 

Commission on Elections Kalinga Provincial Technician George Laed IV revealed this saying that the Kalinga Apayao Electric Cooperative (Kaelco) has certified that 138 schools are powered by the Kaelco Grid. 

Based on the list, only the 13 schools in Rizal are completely powered by Kaelco. Those still needing electricity or power generators include four school in Lubuagan, 22 in Balbalan, five in Pasil, 10 in Pinukpuk, 12 in Tanudan, two in Tabuk, and one in Tinglayan. 

According to Laed, to be certified energized by the Kaelco, this must mean that there is a 24-hour available electricity in said school. 

Those powered up by mini-hydro plants, he said, are not included considering that these are unstable sources of power which are not recommended for use for the Precinct Count Optical Scan machines, broadband global area network (BGAN), and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) equipments. 

BGAN and VSAT, he said, will be used in areas in the province with no cellular signal. 

He explained that although the PCOS machines has its own 12-hour power supply, additional source of energy would still be needed in areas with no cellular signal to power up the BGAN and VSAT for the transmittal of votes. 

The PCOS has its back-up power but considering that the casting of votes is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. which is 12 hours, the PCOS needs to be powered up starting on the voting preparation until the transmittal after the voting process, he added. 

Currently, the Comelec is looking into the needed actions to address this concern to ensure that the election process flows smoothly and orderly on May 13 he said.