Manila voters asked to present ID before voting

Voters flock to Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School in Manila where they cast their ballots in the barangay elections Monday, Oct. 28, 2013. While there weren’t major problems encountered, Maximina de Guzman, 72, of Barangay (village) 510 said several people complained about being asked to present a valid ID first before they could vote. Video by INQUIRER.net’s Cathy Miranda and Hotaru Nitsu

MANILA, Philippines – Voters packed an elementary school in Manila as the country holds its barangay (village) polls Monday.

In Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School, voters started to arrive as early as 7 a.m. to cast their votes.

“Wala namang problema, peaceful. Ok ang daloy ng tao both sa entrance and exit,” Evangelina Escalera, Master Teacher 2 and overall coordinator for elections of Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School said.

Escalera said police officers were situated some 50 meters away from the polling place and will just be alerted should there be any security problem.

The voting will close at exactly 3 p.m. without extension.

While there weren’t major problems encountered, Maximina de Guzman, 72, of Barangay (village) 510 said several people complained about being asked to present a valid ID first before they could vote.

“Buti dala ko ID ko,” she said, but added that the implementation has been stopped after voters who didn’t have their IDs with them complained and argued that other voting precincts didn’t impose such rule.

“Yung iba may ID, yung iba wala…E kung walang dalang ID, babalik pa para kumuha ng ID?” De Guzman added.

A woman sits down as she holds the leaflet of a barangay candidate inside the premises of Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School Monday. It isn’t clear whether the leaflets were distributed on the day of the barangay polls, which would have violated a Commission on Elections rule that prohibited this. CATHY MIRANDA

Among the villages that are set to vote at this school is barangay 503, an election hotspot according to the Philippine National Police.

Evangeline Pagotaisidro, 54, a resident of village 503, could not believe that their community  was an election hotspot.

“Hindi naman siguro. Eching lang,” she said, adding that their community is just small. (Eching is a colloquial term which generally means “just a joke.”)

To further belie the information, Eufemio Llaneta Jr., 42, an incumbent village councilor of Barangay 503, said their were able to secure a certification from the Department of Interior and Local Government certifying that the village was not included in the hotspot list or election watchlist.

The certification dated October 23, 2013, read: ” This is to certify that Barangay 503, Zone 50, District 4, City of Manila, is not included in the Hotspot List or Election Watch List as submitted by DILG-Manila to the Philippine National Police in connection with the forthcoming October 28, 2013 Barangay Elections.”

The certification was signed by Atty. Cherry Canda-Melodias, CESO V, city director.

“Unang-una yung barangay namin napaka peaceful. Yung dalawang tumatakbong chairman sa amin naguusap pa sila. Yung kalaban niya pumnpunta sa bahay ng chairman para maging maayos nga ang botohan. Kaya nagulat kami nung nabasa namin sa dyaryo at napanood sa TV bakit may lumalabas na ganon,” Llaneta said.

He said they heard of the news last October 22 and hurriedly applied for a certification.

Meanwhile, Just outside the school, a woman was seen holding copies of sample ballots and leaflets of a candidate amid the Commission on Elections rule that prohibits campaigning a day before and during the election day.

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