DUMAGUETE CITY (PNA) — Even as the national canvass is still going on, the forthcoming barangay elections in October this year is already being talked about in the countryside.

“If Congress does not pass a law postponing the scheduled barangay elections on Oct. 30, it will push through,” declared Negros Oriental Provincial Election Officer lawyer Eddie Aba.

However, Aba said it will be undertaken through manual counting as it does not need electronic transmission of the results.

He said the Precint Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines used in the elections last May 10 were leased out by Government only in this year’s first automated elections, and by 2013 they could already be obsolete.

After accomplishing all the reports as required by law to be submitted to concerned agencies in Manila with regard to the recent elections, Aba said his office will await directives regarding the continuing registration by July this year.

Aba said a candidate for the position of barangay kagawad or punong barangay should first be a registered voter for one year in the barangay where he intends to run with six months residency required for a voter to be able to vote in the barangay where he intends to cast his ballot.