THE DEPARTMENT of Education said a large number of voters in precincts would be a challenge in this year’s national elections.

But DepEd Undersecretary Alain Pascua believes the department will be able to implement physical separation and other health procedures since voting hours on May 9 are longer than in previous elections.

“Ang problema lang kung magbultuhan kasi usually nagbubultuhan tuwing umaga, iyong first hours, between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Tapos pagdating ng tanghali hanggang hapon, halos wala, tapos biglang magbubultuhan na naman iyong last two hours,” Pascua said.

Atty. Marcelo Bragado Jr. of the DepEd Election Task Force said the environment in polling locations has been mostly peaceful since the country switched to automated elections.

The DepEd Election Task Force Operation and Monitoring Center will be able to respond to concerns in real-time as it will be open from 1 p.m. on May 8 to 5 p.m. on May 10.

On election day, 37,219 schools will function as polling locations, with 647,812 DepEd teaching and non-teaching personnel on hand.