Persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) will be allowed to vote during the May 9, 2022 elections but only within the jail premises on the same day and under the supervision of a special board of election inspectors (BEIs).
Lawyer Ian Macaraya, election officer of Dumaguete and spokesperson of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Negros Oriental, said on Wednesday the PDLs who are eligible to vote are getting registered during satellite activities at the different detention facilities.
Records at the city Comelec office show that 11 female PDLs were registered on Wednesday at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology’s (BJMP) Dumaguete City Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Barangay Bajumpandan.
The Comelec also registered at the facility’s men’s dormitory, 60 male PDLs on Aug. 30.
The same team will conduct on Sept. 10, a similar satellite voters’ registration at the Negros Oriental Detention and Rehabilitation Center in this capital, Macaraya said.
In other jail facilities in Negros Oriental, PDLs will also be able to vote on election day next year, he added.
Meanwhile, absentee voting will also be held for uniformed personnel like the police and the military, teachers, and the media ahead of the May 9, 2022 polls as they will be deployed for election duty on that day.
No schedules and venues have been set so far, Macaraya said. (PNA)
