Bets cast votes early in elections
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Mon, 13 May 2019 08:50:39 +0000
Senatorial bets and local candidates, including government officials and prominent personalities, cast their vote in yesterday’s midterm elections.
Voting early in their home provinces were reelectionist Sen. Koko Pimentel III and former Senator and Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II. Pimentel voted in Cagayan de Oro City while Roxas voted in Roxas City.
“Otso Diretso” bet Sen. Bam Aquino went early to the Concepcion South Central Elementary School in Tarlac to vote. Former Sen. Lito Lapid arrived at Porac Elementary School to cast his vote after voting precincts opened at 6 a.m.
Thirty minutes after polls opened, administration senatorial candidate Francis Tolentino cast his vote at the Francisco P. Tolentino Memorial High School in Tagaytay City.
In Davao del Sur, former Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa voted at the Bato Elementary School with his sister Grace while Otso Diretso senatorial candidate Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano cast his vote in his hometown, Sipalay City, Negros Occidental.
Other early voters were Hugpong ng Pagbabago candidates reelectionist Sen. JV Ejercito and former Sen. Bong Revilla. Revilla was accompanied by his wife, reelectionist Bacoor City Mayor Lani and son, reelectionist Cavite Vice Gov. Jolo Revilla.
Some local candidates trooped to voting places a couple of hours after the polls opened.
San Juan City mayoral candidate Francis Zamora cast his vote at the Xavier School about two hours after the election opened.
Zamora, a former San Juan City vice mayor, is once again trying to break the Estrada family’s 50-year rule in the city by going up against Vice Mayor Janella Ejercito.
Zamora said he went to vote early in order to monitor the situation. “Kumapara noong 2016, mas tahimik ngayon. I will accept the results basta malinis ang eleksyon,” said Zamora, who filed an election protest after the 2016 election when he lost to outgoing Mayor Guia Gomez.
Manila mayoral bet Isko Moreno voted early at the Manuel L. Quezon Elementary School, where he experienced a vote counting machine malfunctioning, delaying the polling process.
Reelectionist Mayor Joseph Estrada’s daughter Jerika, who is vying for a city council seat in the fourth district of Manila, was voted at the P. Burgos Elementary School.
Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio voted at Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School in Davao City early.
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar cast his vote at Pedro E. Diaz High School in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
Veteran actress Susan Roces, mother of reelectionist Sen. Grace Poe, and Butch Robredo, brother of the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, cast their votes.
A defective VCM temporarily disrupted the casting of votes, including that of Sen. Poe, at the Sta. Lucia Elementary School in San Juan City.Poe, who arrived almost three hours after the elections started, was unable to immediately to cast her vote after the VCM failed to read the ballots.
Janet Cabelin, chairperson of the board of elections inspectors in Cluster 81 of the Sta. Lucia Elementary School, said the glitch started at 9:23 a.m. Cabelin said they also encountered paper jams with the machine.
The defective VCM delayed the voting process, with impatient voters complaining about long lines and heat in the narrow halls of the school.
Poe decided to leave for a while as authorities address the technical problem.
Troubleshooting went on for several minutes, until the Commission on Elections San Juan decided to replace the VCM. The new VCM arrived an hour later.
Poe returned to the Sta. Lucia Elementary School before noon as voting resumed and finally cast her vote. The new VCM accepted her ballot. (Raymund Antonio, Betheena Unite, and Charissa L. Atienza with a report from Jel Santos and Vanne Terrazola)