Comelec deliberates today
on registration extension
HUGE TURN-OUT PROVINCEWIDE,TOO
BY CARLA GOMEZ

The Commission on Elections will decide in an en banc meeting today whether to extend the registration of voters for the October 28 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, COMELEC Commissioner Grace Padaca said yesterday.

Provincial Elections Supervisor Jessie Suarez said it is not just the COMELEC office in Bacolod City that is being swamped by voter registrants, it is the same problem in all the towns and cities of Negros Occidental, except for Don Salvador Benedicto.

He said police assistance has been sought to ensure the peaceful and orderly registration process, especially on the last day, today.

Security increased
in Bacolod: Pangue
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

Police Precinct 1 commander, Chief Insp. Levy Pangue, yesterday said he has requested for additional policemen from the Bacolod City Police Office because they anticipate that many applicants will try to beat the deadline or the last day of registration for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in Bacolod City today.

Pangue said the last day will be a critical day for the registration period so they are requesting for a team composed of 12 more policemen.

He recalled that 14 applicants had fainted during the stampede at the BAYS Center Sunday and yesterday another also lost consciousness because of the number of registrants who flocked to the BAYS Center. Personnel of Patrol 117 have been on alert during the registration at the COMELEC Bacolod Field Office, he added.

NBI help sought
on Capitol thefts
BY SHIELA GELERA

Jose Ma. Valencia, chief of staff of Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. has requested the National Bureau of Investigation to probe the two consecutive theft incidents at the Provincial Environment Management Office and the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist recently.

The theft incidents at the PEMO and the OPA show a breakdown in security, Valencia said yesterday.

He said he is wondering why the thieves only stole valuable items at the PEMO like the underwater cameras and GPS Maps, and not vintage ones and that it seems as if the thieves knew where the valuable items are stored. He has asked the NBI to find out if it was an inside job, he said.