The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) said it is looking at installing a Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) in 268 polling precincts which the Police Regional Office-Cordillera (PROCor) has reported to have no internet connectivity.

In a press conference on Monday, lawyer Ederlino Tabilas, regional director of the Comelec-CAR, said they are still checking the report which result will be submitted to their national office for the setting up of the BGAN.

“In the past elections, the BGAN provided the connectivity for the transmission of the election result in areas without internet signal,” he said.

Based on the PROCor report on the road network and internet connectivity, 268 polling places in Cordillera have no network connectivity, while there are 526 with weak or unstable connectivity.

Tabilas said they are assessing the areas to check for possible nearby spots that can become a source of signal.

“Pwede po kasi na kapag gumalaw ka ng kaunti sa pwesto, meron ng signal o di kaya, mag-iba ka ng direction kaya vineverify natin ng husto (it could be possible that by changing the direction or the position, you would be able to get a signal that is why we are thoroughly verifying),” he said.

He said their report will be the basis for the national office in allowing the installation of a BGAN or to make a recommendation for the transport of the election returns to the nearest polling precinct where there is internet connectivity.

Aside from internet connectivity, the PROCor report also showed that 158 precincts in Cordillera are accessible only by foot, seven can be reached through a boat, and 38 with the use of a motorcycle.

“There are systems in place which were adopted in the past and some systems can be put in place to assure that the election results in all areas, no matter how far, will be counted and made part of the national election result,” Tabilas said. (PNA)