By Freddie Velez HAGONOY, Bulacan – Bulakenyos braved the heat and long queues even before the polling centers opened at 6 a.m. on Monday to cast their votes. The heavy turnout in this province sealed the fate of candidates for senators, governor, vice governor, mayor, vice mayor, board members, representatives from four districts of Bulacan including the lone district of the City of San Jose Del Monte and party-list. The Mercado family told this writer that they experienced difficulties in searching for their names in the voter lists. After almost two hours, the family was able to cast their votes but the Vote Counting Machine (VCM) did not accept their ballots. In the Sagrada Familia Elementary School, Hagonoy, Bulacan, a voter reported that the name that appeared on the receipt was not the name of the candidate that he voted for. Rowena Yoropa, principal of the school, told the Manila Bulletin that the elections officials immediately responded and verified the reports. Yoropa said, the complainant was advised to go to the Comelec office. Malfunctioning of the VCMs were also experienced in the towns of Baliwag, Bocaue, Bustos, San Rafael, Paombong, Pulilan, and in the cities of Malolos and San Jose Del Monte. There were also reports that children were used by some candidates in distributing sample ballots to the voters. Bulacan PNP said the midterm election in the province was generally peaceful. Peacekeeping forces were strategically deployed in key areas and quickly responded to several complaints, to ensure the orderly and peaceful conduct of the midterm elections.