Comelec NIR Regional Director Atty. Lionel Marco Castillano (center) with Police Lt. Stephen Polinar (left) of the Philippine National Police and Diocesan Electoral Board executive director Engr. Fred Magallano during the Kapihan sa PIA Forum on Jan. 28, 2025 at the Dumaguete Press Club, Dumaguete City. (PIA Negros Oriental)
DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental (PIA) — Of the total 978,643 registered voters in the province, some 927 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) will be voting during the May 12, 2025 national and local elections.
In a Kapihan sa PIA forum, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Negros Island Region (NIR) regional election director Lionel Marco Castillano said inmates are now allowed to cast their votes both for national and local positions.
“Ang difference karon ug sa una (The difference between now and before), the Supreme Court has a decision na atung mga (that our detainees) detainees can vote the local candidates but before only national candidates,” said Castillano.
BJMP Negros Oriental chief administrator, Chief Insp. Julia Sale, said the 927 registered PDL voters include those from the detention facilities in Bais City with 107 detainee-voters; 66 in Vallehermoso; 28 in Manjuyod; 72 from the Dumaguete City Male Dorm; 51 from Canlaon City; 179 form Bayawan City; 138 from Guihulngan City; 77 from Mabinay; and 209 from Tanjay City.
Sale also noted that the number of eligible PDL voters could still change with new detainees or releases in the coming months.
Castillano explained that the voting process will be at the detention facility centers where the special board of election inspectors (BEIs) will bring the ballots from the precinct to the jail facilities.
“No automated counting machines will be placed inside the jails, but the BEIs will bring the officials ballots from the precinct to the jails,” Castillano said.
The BEIs will collect the completed ballots, place them in sealed envelopes, and transport them to designated voting precincts where they will be officially registered and fed into the automated counting machines.
According to Comelec guidelines, eligible PDL voters are those confined in jail facing charges and awaiting trial, individuals with sentences under one year, and those convicted of rebellion or sedition.
Sale said campaigning inside jail facilities will not only allow the candidates to share their platforms with the inmates, but will also ensure that the PDLs are informed of who to vote for. (JCT/PIA7 Negros Oriental)
