Like a good number of voters on election day, aspiring vice president Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan had to wait for three hours before he could cast his vote in Silang, Cavite.
"Worth the wait. Worth lining up for about three hours," Pangilinan said after he cast his vote at the Inchican Elementary School in Silang, Cavite. He was with his wife, Megastar Sharon Cuneta.
After voting, the Senator said he will "go home, monitor the votes, monitor the process."
He also urged Filipino voters, who have been lining up for hours now, to hang in there as he also encouraged volunteers to be more understanding and assist those who are lining up to cast their votes.
Pangilinan said he, too, has been receiving reports of various election-related issues such as the long queues of voters in polling sites and the malfunctioning of vote-counting machines.
These situations, he said, might also force voters to leave the lines and end up not voting.
An extension of about an hour or an hour and a half would be a great help to the voters, Pangilinan said, supporting the call to extend the voting period due to the current circumstances in polling sites.
"Yes, if it's another hour or an a half of voting, siguro hindi mahirap yun, hindi komplikado (perhaps that's neither hard, nor complicated)," he said.
The aspiring vice president stressed that the long queues or the incidents of malfunction on VCMs are not the fault of the people, so extending the voting hours should be considered to "give chance to all."
"Hindi kasalanan ng tao na nag-malfunction yung mga machine. So dapat bigyan sila ng konsiderasyon (It is not the people's fault that the machines malfunctioned. So, they must be given consideration)," Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan's wife, megastar Sharon Cuneta, also joined the call for voters to stay on the line and vote.
"Please hang in there. We've come this far. Sinamahan n'yo po kami ng 90 days sa kampanya, nagtiis na po kayo sa rallies o naghintay kayo sa araw na 'to kahit nasa bahay lang kayo (You have joined us in the last 90 days of campaign, you endured the rallies, or waited for this day even when you're at home). Please do not give up. Your vote is so important. Each one of you po. Every single vote means so much to this campaign so please make your voice heard, do not waste your vote or do not waste this chance. Konting tiis lang po (Please endure it for a little more)," Cuneta said.