Enthused Belmonte casts vote early

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. was among the early risers who cast their votes Monday morning.

It took Belmonte, who is seeking a second term as congressman of the fourth district, around five minutes to shade his choices and a few moments to feed his ballot into the precinct count optical scan machine at the Christ the King Seminary in Quezon City.

“Very efficient, compared to last time,” the reelectionist solon said, who wore the Liberal Party’s trademark yellow, quipping that he voted without any “kodigo” (guide).

He arrived at around 9 a.m. while there were still relatively few residents casting their ballots, and gamely posed for photos.

The voting at the seminary’s covered court covers barangays along E. Rodriguez Ave.

Belmonte is running against Hans Palacios of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino.

Asked if he is confident that the Liberal Party will make a clean sweep of the six districts mayoral and vice mayoral races, the solon said with a grin: “Of course, let’s be realistic.”