Bacolod has new poll officer

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has designated a new election officer for this city.

Comelec-6 regional office assigned Sipalay Election Officer Adrian Arellano as acting election officer of Bacolod City from Sept. 21 to 25.

Comelec-6 regional director Wilfredo Jay Balisado directed Arellano to replace Ma. Fatima Aspan.

Aspan will go back to her post as provincial election officer of Negros Occidental.

Aspan was designated by Balisado as acting election officer of Bacolod City effective September 14 after a staff of the Bacolod Comelec office tested positive for COVID-19.

Earlier, Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia expressed alarm over the sudden and extremely unusual influx of transferee-registrants from out-of-town areas at the Bacolod office of the Commission on Elections last week.

He called on Aspan to inhibit herself from assuming as acting city poll officer to preserve the integrity of the ongoing voter’s registration.

But Aspan said her transfer has nothing to do with the request of the mayor for her to inhibit.

She said she will continue to monitor the activities of the Comelec Bacolod Satellite Office which is under the supervision of the Provincial Comelec Office.

Voters’ registration will end on September 30, 2021.