President Aquino leads Barangay Polls
TARLAC CITY) President Benigno Aquino III led 54
million Filipinos in casting votes in barangay elections on Monday.
At 11 a.m., the President arrived at his polling
precinct in Central Azucarera de Tarlac Elementary School here, where he also
cast his vote during the midterm elections last May.
Wearing a blue shirt, the President cast his
vote at Precinct 175-A, the same precinct where his sisters Maria Elena
"Ballsy" Cruz and Aurora "Pinky" Corazon-Abellada along
with their spouses Eldon Cruz and Manuel Antonio Abellada, respectively, also
cast their votes. Ballsy's sons Eldon Gulio Cruz and Justin Benigno Cruz were
also present.
The President was number 5 among the 287
registered voters at his precinct.
The President, through manual voting, selected
among the two candidates for barangay captain and 25 candidates for barangay
kagawad here.
He had a prepared list of candidates on which he
based who to vote.
Tarlac City has the most number of voters in
Tarlac province with 2,762 voters.
A total of 94,124 candidates are running for
barangay captain while 715,012 are running for barangay kagawad in the entire
country based on the data from the Commission on Elections.
Polling precincts here opened at exactly 7 a.m.
and will close at 3 p.m. PND (jb)
Keep exercising vigilance as counting of votes
in the barangay polls begins, Malacañang appeals
Elections for the barangay officials are over
but Malacañang wants the general public to maintain its vigilance as the votes
are being tallied to ensure the success of this year’s village polls.
Presidential Communications Operations Office
(PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. issued this statement on Monday, shortly
after the Philippine National Police (PNP) declared this year’s conduct of the
barangay elections “generally peaceful.”
“Bagama’t may mga naitalang insidente ng ballot
snatching sa mga ilang lugar, kasama ito sa napaghandaan ng COMELEC (Commission
on Elections) at may nakalaang mga improvised ballots sa mga presinto upang
tiyaking matutuloy ang eleksyon. Natunton din ang ilang insidente ng pamimili
ng boto at pananagutin ang mga nahuli,” Coloma said.
According to PNP’s report as of 10 a.m., 64
incidents of election-related violence were recorded. Even the elections
conducted in 210 detention facilities nationwide have also been peaceful.
Coloma said they are still awaiting reports with
respect to the situation in Lanao del Norte and Maguindanao, which are among
the areas of critical concern in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM).
“Umaasa tayong wala nang gaanong magiging
problema sa bilangan ng mga balota, bagama’t patuloy na nakaantabay ang
pamahalaan. Maaaring makita ng mamamayan ang malinaw na resulta ng halalan
hanggang bukas,” Coloma said.
The Commission on Elections has declared a total
of eight nuisance candidates, 300 unregistered candidates, while three to four
candidates were found to have criminal conviction. The COMELEC may finish its
proclamation of the winners before noon of November 30.
“Nanawagan kami sa sambayanan na ipagpatuloy ang
pagmamasid at pagtutok sa bilangan ng boto upang matiyak na magiging ganap ang
tagumpay ng halalang ito bilang proseso sa pagpili ng mga karapat-dapat mamuno
at manungkulan sa mga barangay na siyang pundasyon ng demokrasya,” Coloma said.
PND (hdc)
