ILOILO CITY — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) on Monday, October 30, in Western Visayas were smooth and peaceful.
PEOPLE vote in the barangay elections at the M.V. Hechanova Elementary School in Jaro, Iloilo City on Monday, October 30. (Tara Yap)
“So far, no major problem has been recorded,” said Atty. Dennis Ausan, Comelec-6 director. “If there were problems during the voting process, it was all minor problems,” Ausan added.
Among these were the usual problem of some voters who could not find their names on the list or had a longer period of time in trying to find their precincts in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental provinces as well as the highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod.
“Of course, it was notable that the online precinct finder was a big help to many of our voters,” Ausan said.
Ausan attributed this year’s successful BSKE to the long preparation of Comelec.
“We had enough time to prepare. This was supposed to be last December 2022, but that was postponed,” Ausan said.
Ausan thanked all partner agencies of the Comelec-6, particularly law enforcement agencies such as the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for securing peace and order.
He also thanked the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Red Cross for medical teams deployed in voting precincts.