Voting in GenSan, South Cotabato ‘generally smooth’

GENERAL SANTOS CITY --- Voting in this city and nearby South Cotabato province had been “generally smooth” despite some reported problems, among them the usual missing names of voters and confusion over the election procedure.

Atty. Jay Gerada, Commission on Elections (Comelec)-South Cotabato supervisor said, last May 14 that all election centers and precincts opened as scheduled and they had not encountered any major problem related to the conduct of the Barangay and Sangguniang (SK) Elections.

“We’ve encountered some minor problems but these were resolved by our election officers and personnel,” he said in a radio interview.

A number of voters in this city and parts of South Cotabato were not able to immediately cast their votes when the precincts opened at 7 a.m. after failing to find their names in the computerized voters list.

There were voters who had difficulty finding their precincts while some endured long queues in voting precincts.

Gerada said they referred the voters with missing names to the election officers to properly determine their status.

He said it’s possible that some of them were already delisted or deactivated after failing to vote in the last two elections.

In Koronadal City, some voters at the Koronadal Central Elementary School-II complained that members of the election board required them to submit identification or ID cards and related documents before being allowed to cast their votes.

But Gerada said voters were not required to carry or present IDs to be able to vote based on election rules.

In Barangay Ezperanza, he ordered acting Koronadal City Election Officer Emma Uy to dismantle the reported assistance desks established by supporters of three candidates who were running as barangay chair.

The assistance desks mainly offer help in finding the names of voters through a list supposedly provided by the Comelec.

“These are not allowed as they could lead to campaigning for the candidates,” he said.

In terms of election-related violations, especially vote-buying, Gerada said their office has not yet received any formal complaint.

In case they occurred, he said they expect potential cases to be reported first to the local police and city or municipal election offices. (PNA - Cotabato MINDANAO EXPOSE’)