By PIA-Bohol | 07:31 PM May 09, 2025
Bohol Election superintendent and lawyer Eliseo Labaria has called on all poll workers and law enforcement authorities deployed for poll duty to strive to erase peoples’ fear and make sure of the peaceful conduct of elections so that Bohol could attain a high voter’s turn-out.
Speaking before the Final Provincial Command Conference officials and inter-agency representatives tasked to make the 2025 National and Local Elections free, fair, peaceful and credible, Labaria said “the days of preparations and the massive mobilization of resources for a day equivalent to war time, but then such is so that Filipinos can, at least for a single act, be equal, where each one has an equal one vote.”
Highlighting the need for a free and peaceful exercise of the right to vote, the lawyer poll body chief in Bohol stressed that voter’s turn-out would always be dependent on the peace situation.
“If people are afraid to come out of their homes to vote, we can not expect a good turn-out,” he said.
“This as the Philippine National Police in Bohol commits 1,526 of its personnel for election deployment in Bohol, to cover on a two per voting center assignment,” according to Camp Dagohoy Operations Officer Police Major Christopher Fernandez.
“Augmenting the police warm bodies are 317 Armed Forces of the Philippines officers and men,” adds Major Jayrod Cabahug, during the command conference.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard’s two Stations in Bohol has committed some 216 more personnel for poll peacekeeping duty.
As these personnel gets their eyes peeled on the 981,564 registered voters, they too would be casting their votes on the 3 gubernatorial candidates, 3 vice-gubernatorial candidates, 4 First District Representatives, 2 second district representatives, 2 third district representatives, 22 Sangguniang Panlalawigan representatives, 104 mayoralty candidates, 95 vice-mayoralty candidates, 28 city councillor candidates and from 842 Sangguniang Bayan candidates.
At least 18 candidates here are running for their positions unopposed, Comelec said.
And then, the integrity and fairness of the 2025 national and Local Elections on Monday, May 12, would be in the hands of a total of 6,970 poll workers, and possibly more, if alternate poll workers are to be counted.
Labaria bared this during the Final Provincial Command Conference for the 2025 National and Local Elections held at the Panda Tea Garden and Suites, May 3, 2025.
The number would include 4,626 members of the Electoral Board comprised of the chairperson, Poll Clerk and third Member for Bohol’s 6,494 precincts clustered into 1,542, he said before uniformed personnel who would be deployed for the duration of the polling.
As the Department of Education partners with the poll body in the election proceedings, District Education Supervisors Office Technical support staff for poll duty reaches 1,074 with 117 backup technical DESO support staff.
Another 1,074 DepED supervising officials would be going around the area of responsibility and troubleshooting any issues that crop up during the election process.
Moreover, Labaria said 196 more personnel would be acting as Board of Election canvassers comprised of chairpersons, vice chairpersons, secretary and consolidated canvassing system (CCS) operators.
The local Comelec has said these personnel hired by the government would be assigned to make sure that the voters in 6,494 established precincts filter on to 1,074 established voting centers in Bohol’s 1,109 barangays.
To them, Labaria said, each of us have specific jobs to do, we have to do this to the best of our abilities. (RAHC/PIA7/Bohol)
