CASTING OF VOTES. Registered voters at Precinct 3 situated at Lezo Integrated School in Lezo, Aklan cast their votes for the midterm elections on Monday (May 13, 2019). Commission on Elections Atty. Jose Nick Mendros urged voters to make sure their ballots has no unnecessary markings and the ovals are fully shaded. (Photo by Jun Aguirre)
ILOILO CITY -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) 6 (Western Visayas) is expecting 80 percent to 85 percent of the region’s 4,808,839 registered voters to cast their votes on Monday.
Comelec data showed that Negros Occidental has the highest number of registered voters in the region, with 1,889,200; followed by Iloilo with 1,525,168.
Aklan has 390,360; Antique, 371,244; Capiz, 513,329; and Guimaras, 119,538 voters.
Lawyer Jose Nick Mendros, chief of Comelec-6, in a phone interview urged voters to go to their polling centers as early as possible. Polling centers opened at 6 a.m. and will close at 6 p.m.
“Make sure in filling up the ballots, there are no necessary markings. The oval should be fully shaded, and check your voter’s receipt to know if your vote is properly counted by the (vote counting) machine (VCM),” Mendros said.
Meanwhile, he assured that the region has enough VCMs and voters registration verification machines (VRVM) after reports of machines that malfunctioned during the testing and sealing that were done last week.
Western Visayas has a total of 7,109 clustered precincts, and each precinct has one VCM.
Iloilo City and province, Negros Occidental, and Bacolod City are pilot sites for the VRVM.
The Comelec provided 62 contingency machines for Aklan; 76 for Antique; 78 for Capiz; 265 for Iloilo; 19 for Guimaras; and 241 for Negros Occidental.
“So far we have not received negative reports. But we will be receiving the first batch of reports,” he said when asked one hour after the polling centers opened. (PNA)
