Comelec to voters: Leave kids at home, don’t loiter like a ‘Marites’ after voting

FILE PHOTO: Comelec Commissioner George Garcia speaks to members of the press. John Eric Mendoza/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Voters have been urged not to bring their children to polling precincts and to avoid hanging around like a “Marites” after voting.

“We are again appealing to the public, especially the mothers, who wanted to bring their children to the polling precincts, huwag na po [please don’t]. Baka may mapagiiwanan na lang tayo sa mga bahay [Maybe you have someone at home to look after them],” appealed Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner George Garcia during Thursday’s Pandesal Forum.

“Wala naman po kaming pinagbabawal…but our appeal is we concentrate on voting, we are still at war with this pandemic, COVID-19 is still there, kaya nga po isipin niyo po dadagdag pa sa kukuhanan namin ng temperature ‘yung bata, tapos dadagdag pa sa worry namin na baka ‘yung bata habang bumoboto magtanggal ng face mask or baka kung saan payagan na magikot ikot dun sa loob ng polling precinct or polling place,” he added.

(We don’t are not prohibiting them…but our appeal is we concentrate on voting, we are still at war with this pandemic, COVID-19 is still there, think about it, we will also need to check the kids’ temperature and it provides additional worry that children may remove their face masks and loitering in the polling precinct.)

Garcia further urged voters not to loiter inside polling places to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Sana ‘yung mga bumoboto, pagkaboto ninyo po sa presinto, huwag nang mag-Marites [Hopefully the voters, after voting, don’t be a Marites],” he said.

“’Huwag nang pakalat-kalat pa sa polling place, umuwi na lang po kaagad, dire-diretso po sa bahay [Don’t loiter in the polling place, just go straight home. Don’t linger around the polling precinct],” he added.

Meanwhile, the poll body official said guidelines are in place to ensure the safety of both voters and teachers assisting in the elections on Monday, May 9.

“Our guidelines are intact, our teachers were trained to ensure that they themselves will be protected against COVID-19,” Garcia said.

“In fact, we also have our temperature check, we have our ‘yung mga machine that can disinfect the polling places. We can segregate the senior citizens, the PWDs (persons with disabilities), and the pregnant women at least protektado sila [they are protected],” he added.

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