TACLOBAN CITY – Residents in two upland barangays in Calbayog City in Samar encountered a delay in casting their votes after an armed attack against a soldier and Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) disturbed the scheduled voting on Monday, October 30.
MAP of Calbayog City
Voting started on Monday afternoon in Dinawacan, while in Nag-uma, the election began on Tuesday morning, October 31, Commission on Elections (Comelec)-Eastern Visayas Director Felicisimo Embalsado said.
Suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) fired at the Army personnel and three public school teachers acting as BEIs in Nag-uma around 6:30 a.m. on Monday within the vicinity of Dinawacan but no one was hurt.
“This resulted in a panic among members of the electoral board, which obliged them to return to Dinawacan village. Those assigned in Nag-uma took shelter in Dinawacan while soldiers waited for reinforcement,” the Comelec official said.
The two barangays have over 300 registered voters.
Embalsado assured the proclamation of winners within the day, with more troops deployed to secure the two voting centers.
The Comelec regional office received the report early on Tuesday due to poor mobile phone signals in these upland communities.
A seven-hour hike from a nearby access road is needed to reach the two barangays.
Meanwhile, Embalsado reported that 98 percent of the region’s 4,365 barangays declared their winners as of Tuesday morning.
Confirmation about the completed proclamation has been delayed in far-flung areas, mostly due to poor mobile phone signals, especially in Samar provinces, according to Comelec.
Embalsado said that the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections was generally peaceful in Eastern Visayas.