3.7M Cebuanos to vote today
At least 3,778,228 Cebuanos will hit the polls today, May 9, 2022, a number that is expected to contribute greatly to the outcome of the elections even at the national level.
Nationwide, up to 67.5 million are expected to vote.
In Cebu, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) expects a turnout of up to 90 percent.
“All systems go na ang tanan.
We are ready. We expect an 85 percent to 90 percent turnout,” said Atty. Jerome Brilliantes, acting elections supervisor in Cebu Province.
This is the first time that the Philippines is holding an election in the middle of a pandemic, and health personnel will be present at polling centers to ensure protocols will be followed strictly.
In Cebu City, personnel of its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) inspected polling centers on the eve of elections.
A triage area and an isolation area will be made available for voters who will show symptoms of COVID-19. Comelec has prohibited the following acts:
• Selling, furnishing, offering, buying, serving, or taking intoxicating liquor
• Giving, accepting free transportation, food or drinks or things of value;
• Voting more than once in substitution of another;
• Soliciting votes or undertaking any propaganda for or against a candidate or any political party within the polling place or within 30 meters thereof;
• Opening of booths or stalls for the sale, etc. of merchandise or refreshments within a radius of thirty (30) meters from the polling place;
• Holding of fairs, cockfights, boxing, horse races or any other similar sports
Atty. Edwin Cadungog, election officer for Cebu City’s North District, said the conduct of elections will kick off at 6 a.m.
Official ballots were delivered starting midnight of May 8 to the farthest polling center. Distribution of ballots was targeted to finish at 5 a.m. on Election Day.
Minor kinks were observed in some vote counting machines but these issues were resolved immediately, Cadungog said.
Brilliantes and Archbishop Jose Palma called on Cebuanos to go out and exercise their right to vote.
Palma asked that voters choose leaders “who have a heart of a good shepherd, those whose character, commitment and capabilities show that they have a genuine concern for the welfare of the Filipino people… especially the weak among us… leaders whose vision would lead us to a brighter tomorrow.”
“It is time for us to go to the polls and choose new shepherds who will lead our country for the next six years,” Palma said.
In Cebu City, six are running for mayor, one of two local government units in Cebu Island with more than five candidates, the other being Alegria, based on Comelec listing.
Two towns, Argao and Cordova, have five mayoralty candidates while five other LGUs have four candidates – Borbon, Consolacion, Minglanilla, Oslob, and Santa Fe.
Most LGUs in Cebu Island have two or three candidates. Meanwhile, five mayoralty candidates, nine vice-mayoralty candidates, and four congressional candidates are running unopposed.