MANILA, Aug. 9 (PNA) — As part of its preparations for the May 2016 national and local polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is planning to reassign its field officials before the end of the year.
Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said the possible reshuffle of personnel will involve regional election directors (REDs), provincial election supervisors (PES), and city/municipal election officers (EOs).
“Part yan ng ating standard na preparation. Nagkakaroon tayo ng evaluation kung kailangan ng reshuffle,” he added.
Jimenez noted the moving of personnel would still depend on the commission en banc to avoid any associations between poll body employees and candidates in the forthcoming elections.
“We usually do that to avoid situations kung saan local Comelec officials are already very cozy with local personalities,” he explained.
The poll body official said that the reshuffle may be conducted as early as December of this year.
Jimenez said the extent of the reshuffle depends on the assessment of the commission en banc.
“Depende sa need. There were times na hanggang REDs pa e. Definitely, ito ay hanggang level ng EOs,” he added.
The Comelec-Employees Union said there are about 16 REDs, 80 PES and over 1,500 EOs nationwide. (PNA)