Media practitioners in Dumaguete City were not allowed to witness the offloading of election equipment and other paraphernalia that arrived yesterday in four container vans from Bacolod City.

Dumaguete elections officer Jerome Brillantes told them the Commission on Elections does not have any control over the decision of the 2GO cargo forwarder to ban the media from entering its warehouse where the four container vans were to be opened and inventoried.

Brillantes said this was a decision of 2GO operations supervisor Mcophel Curativo, and he believes security was the main reason for it, as the warehouse also contains other cargos.

On Tuesday, the media and representatives of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and the National Movement for Free Elections were allowed inside the warehouse to document the inventory of the first shipment of the Precinct Count Optical Scan machines for Negros Oriental and Siquijor provinces.

The media reported on seeming irregularities in the transport and delivery of the PCOS machines from Bacolod City to Dumaguete, when it was discovered that 266 units were not in the shipment, and there was lack of communication between the Comelec and the 2GO on the “missing” units.

Curativo declined to comment on the perceived discrepancies, as well as the arrival of 20 PCOS machines for Basay, Negros Oriental, that he labeled as “loose cargo” Monday.

Brillantes, Bayawan elections officer Ian Macaraya, Ayungon elections officer James Aba, and Comelec technician Leo Mirasol were present in the inventory yesterday.

Brillantes said that until the election equipment and paraphernalia are released by the cargo forwarder company to the Comelec offices, 2GO still has jurisdiction over them and are tasked to secure them.*JFP

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