[필리]

MANILA: All the necessary safeguards are in place for a “COVID-proof” election, Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials assured the 67.4 million voters trooping to polling precincts nationwide on May 9, PhilStar reported.

Comelec Commissioner Rey Bulay gave this assurance at a press conference yesterday amid fears of a possible surge in COVID-19 cases, following the Department of Health (DOH)’s confirmation that the highly contagious BA.2.12 Omicron subvariant has already been detected in the country. Bulay said all safety measures, set by the poll body’s “new normal committee,” are in place with the help of various government agencies to ensure the safety of all Filipino voters.

“The new normal committee wants a COVID-proof election on May 9,” Bulay said partly in Filipino. “So Commissioner [Aimee] Neri went ahead and signed multilateral contracts with different department agencies for the control of the spread of COVID-19 and its new subvariants during the elections.” He emphasized that these safeguards to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are in place for the “present, during elections and post elections.”