Generally peaceful polls

Yesterday I was so happy to be able to vote  without a problem. I woke up  about 7 a.m. and went directly to our polling precinct. I had to line up for about an hour and realized that next time I should be at the polling precinct before it opens.  But the precinct count optical scan  (PCOS) machine accepted my ballot without a hitch.

After being unable to vote in  the past two elections, I was happy to fulfill my responsibility as a citizen. My younger brother who voted in barangay Guadalupe told me he  had to wait for at least four hours to vote because the PCOS machine was not working and had to be fixed by a technician.

My other brother had a better experience. By 10 a.m.  he called to say he was done voting. I was hoping that  most of the  electorate voted as smoothly as  I did. It’s   important for people to exercise their right to choose our government officials. But based on television reports of the day’s events,  minor glitches occurred in some areas. The Commission on Elections assured that these incidents won’t affect the results of the elections.

I am praying that when all is said and done,  the elections were  honest and orderly and the voice of the people shall be heard. Though I got some information about vote-buying in some areas I am confident that the people will vote wisely.

Now that the election is over, let me share with you the names of   candidates whom I voted for senator. I voted for Juan Miguel Zubiri, Richard Hagedorn, Risa Hontiveros and the Kapatiran candidates like JC delos Reyes and Marwil Llassos. I also voted for some Liberal Party candidates to fill the 12 Senate slots.

Good luck to all the candidates. We are hoping that after this election, we can all unite once again for a better Cebu and Philippines.

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I would like to thank sincerely our teachers for their successful role as boards of election inspectors. Their job was thankless work in some ways but  they made our lives very convenient.

I am very happy with my experience with the PCOS machines. All that the teachers did was to see to it that the election process would be orderly and above board whereas in the past they were always suspected of getting involved in the commission of fraud. Now they are above suspicion because the PCOS machines do the counting.

The only thing that should be corrected if possible is the practice of some politicians and voters of illegal activities like vote buying and selling but I am hoping that the people learned their lessons after the last elections when many corrupt politicians were elected by virtue of vote buying.

The other thing that is common during elections is the occurrence of violence in some places perpetrated by some unscrupulous politicians and their supporters. Violence made the police very busy during the election day especially in some parts of Mindanao.

I am hoping that the violence that occurred during the election did not result in the deaths of supporters and political leaders.

Overall the election was conducted successfully and we would like to congratulate the officials of the Commission on Elections and their staff for their sacrifices and steadfastness in pursuing the automated elections despite the challenges raised by some quarters.

Today we start a new beginning in our political history as the people have cast their votes to elect officials who shall govern them for the next three to six years.

Good luck to our people. Hopefully they did make the best or better choice.