Over 65M voters to elect next leaders; 18,100 positions up for grabs
More than 65 million voters are expected to troop to polling centers on Monday, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., with poll officials projecting a high 80 to 90 percent turnout nationwide as Filipinos choose their next President for six years.
“It’s all systems go,” said Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo, despite some minor problems.
“We are just waiting for the day of elections. We conducted FTS (final testing and sealing of the vote counting machines or VCMs) and the problems were resolved. We are 100 percent all set for the May 9 elections.”
He said the Comelec completed the final testing and sealing of 56,864 VCMs that will be used in the polls.
The poll body also assured the public that it has competent technicians who are capable of addressing any problems that might crop up.
“I can assure the public that we are not going to have problems with the VCMs. We have 1,100 contingency machines which are more than enough,” he said.
A total 18,100 elective positions will be contested in the May 9, 2022 elections.
The national positions are for president, vice president, 12 senators and 63 party-list representatives.
The local positions are for 253 district representatives, 81 governors, 81 vice governors, 782 provincial board members, 146 city mayors, 146 city vice mayors, 1,650 city councilors, 1,488 municipal mayors, 1,488 municipal vice mayors and 11,908 municipal councilors.
Police and the military said they were on full alert and prepared for the elections.
Comelec commissioners and officials of the country’s security forces conducted a walkthrough inspection of the Philippine International Convention Center, where the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) will convene on Monday.
Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Vicente Danao Jr. said 225,000 PNP personnel would be operationally ready to ensure and secure an accurate and fair election.
He also announced the implementation of the nationwide total liquor ban effective on Saturday night, May 7 until Monday, May 9.
The PNP OIC also warned those who would try to conduct campaign activities would be apprehended.
The National Capital Region Police Office said all station and district command units in Metro Manila were ready for today’s synchronized national and local elections.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Andres Centino said that AFP personnel were also on full alert, with their naval and air assets ready for the May 9 polls.
Comelec Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan promised that the poll body would protect the sanctity of all votes in the country.
“The guiding principle of the Comelec will be to protect the sanctity of the vote by all means and in whatever circumstances. Together with our partner agencies, the PNP, AFP, PCG, DepED, and other government agencies, we are going to pursue this to the end,” Pangarungan said.
At the same time, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said there would be a sufficient level of supply and reserves in all power grids across the country on election day.
The NGCP said the Luzon grid had a total available cap of 14,031 megawatts (MW) against a system demand of 10,125 MW as of Saturday evening.
The Visayas and Mindanao grids had available caps of 2,797 and 2,930 MW, respectively, against a demand of 1,988 and 1,795 MW.
The NGCP also reported that “all transmission lines are under normal operations.”
President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated the call to the police and the military to ensure honest and violence-free elections, noting it is his duty as President to ensure an orderly election.
At the same time, he assured voters that they will be able to exercise their right to vote and choose whoever they want to vote for.
He again advised his Cabinet members to stay neutral and urged the people to go out and participate in the national and local elections.
In other developments:
• PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) over the weekend said they are on full alert to ensure services remain seamless during this year’s presidential polls. PLDT and Smart have prepositioned personnel and mission-critical equipment to ensure uninterrupted service across the country ahead of the May 9 elections. Quick response teams are on standby, ready to be deployed in areas that might experience service issues, the company said.
• The watchdog group Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) will deploy 4,000 volunteers from its 40 law school chapters nationwide to monitor and to ensure safe, accountable, transparent, and inclusive elections. “We call on the public to remain vigilant on irregularities and election offenses that would affect the free vote of Filipinos. Particular attention should be given to vote buying efforts as candidates and supporters would drum up such efforts on the last day before elections,” the group said in a statement. For any reports of election offenses or questions on election procedures, Lente can be reached on the following hotlines: 0917-106 6265 (Globe), (02) 7502 1591 (landline), 0920-266 0944 (Smart), and on our social media pages: Lente Philippines (Facebook) and @LENTE_PH (Twitter).