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A concerned citizen named Andrew Jake Borbe Aguda alerted ABS-CBN News about the sorry state of the Commission on Elections Manila office at the second floor of the Geriatrics Foundation Building on Lions Road, Arroceros, Manila.
Aguda presented photos showing overflowing garbage cans and even animal feces inside the said office (just click this link to see that particular photo, as we could not bear to upload it).
ABS-CBN News got in touch with Election Officer (EO) Narciso M. Arabe and asked him about the things shown in Aguda’s photos. Arabe said that the said Comelec office “does not have a janitor” and that “only employees clean up when the office closes at 5pm.”
However, as Arabe, added, “there has been a higher than usual number of people coming to the Comelec office during working hours due to the ongoing registration of voters.” As such, they can’t keep up with the cleaning. And, oh, he also said that the floor stains were caused by leaks on the roof.
Speaking to dzMM, Comelec chairman Andres Bautista said he has been informed about the situation of the poll office in Manila and promised to remedy the problem.
“It does not reflect well on the Comelec. Here we are trying to promote clean and honest elections but in our own backyard, it is not clean. No excuses. We will ask the Comelec officer to explain why. This kind of behavior is unacceptable,” Bautista said. —from an ABS-CBNnews.com report
