MANILA, (PNA) — 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 but this number is considered much lower than in the previous village polls last 2010. 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.