ASIDE from 11 municipalities, three more towns are set to hold special elections on May 14 after they failed to hold elections on May 9, the Commission on Elections said Thursday.
The commission had declared a failure of elections in three clustered precincts in three towns in three provinces, paving the way for Saturday’s elections.
The three precincts are in Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao, in Loreto in Agusan del Sur and in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental.
The military units deployed in the 52 clustered precincts where the special elections will be held will still be on red alert, acting Armed Forces chief-of-staff Glorious Miranda said on Thursday.
Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor, Philippine National Police spokesman, said the PNP was ready to ensure security in the places set to hold special elections.
He said the police were ready to serve as Board of Election inspectors once they were deputized by the Comelec.
In the precinct in Sultan Kudarat, the Comelec said no elections were held after the ballot box containing the election materials were forcibly taken by unidentified men.
The Comelec said the printing of 703 official ballots had already been ordered as well as the allocation of the required election materials.
It said it had already ordered the military and the police to secure the special elections.
Meanwhile, the elections failed to take place in Loreto in Agusan del Sur and in Hinigaran in Negros Occidental after they encountered problems with their ballots.
The poll body said the clustered precinct in Loreto lacked 291 ballots as it had 746 registered voters.
On the other hand, no election was held in the Hinigaran clustered precinct, which has 685 registered voters, after a mis-delivery of official ballots on May 9.