Poll body’s office ‘besieged’
A crowd estimated at 3,500 show up for first day of registration for barangay, SK elections
Common complaints among would-be voters include long lines and people cutting in
THOUSANDS of would-be voters in Cebu City trooped to the office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday for the start of the 10-day registration for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in October.
Carmensita Bostillo, 58, said she started lining up at the poll body’s office at 5 a.m. and was only accommodated around 3 p.m.
The Comelec, though, opens its door to applicants at 8 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m.
“Gubot gyud kaayo. Gaduot-duot ang mga tawo (There was a lot of shoving),” Bostillo said.
As a result, one of the windows of the Comelec north district office was broken
“Dugay pod kaayo ang linya. Sa kadaghan sa tawo, wa na mi nihawa sa among linya, wa na sad mi kapaniudto kay mahadlok mi mapulihan (We waited in line for so long. We were afraid to lose our place so we didn’t leave the line. We ended up missing lunch),” she said.
More capturing machines
Comelec has only four capturing machines. Lawyers Marchel Sarno and Edwin Cadungog, Comelec election officers, said the city needs 20 machines to hasten the registration process. They said they will ask Comelec Manila for additional machines so they can accommodate more applicants.
With only four machines, they said the Comelec can only accommodate 800 registrants daily.
Supt. Carmelo Dayon, deputy city director of the Cebu City Police Office, estimated the crowd size at the Comelec office yesterday at 3,500.
In a separate interview, 60-year-old Superiana Turbo from Barangay Tabunan also complained about the long lines.
She said she arrived at the poll body’s office around 8 a.m. and was still in line at 4 a.m., despite the special lane set up for the elderly.
“Wa’y klaro ang ilang systema. Galinya ta diri pero naay uban nga mo- insert lang. Di nila mabantayan (We patiently waited in line but many people cut in),” she said
Her sentiment was echoed by Delia Tagupa, 26, of Barangay Cogon Pardo.
“That’s why the lines hardly moved because people kept on cutting in,” she said in Cebuano.
No word on extension, yet
Mayor Michael Rama, who went to the Comelec yesterday, told Sarno and Cadungog to disperse the crowd so the second day of registration today will be more orderly.
The two men said they will heed the mayor’s suggestion to direct applicants that need to secure a query form about being a new registrant or a transferee to the Plaza Independencia.
After filling it up, they can head to the Comelec office to have their biometrics captured.
In a separate interview, Councilor Gerardo Carillo, chairperson of the council’s committee on social services, wants Comelec to extend the registration.
This way, the councilor said applicants will not troop to the Comelec office.
Carillo also wants Comelec to conduct satellite registration in malls, schools and barangays to decongest the crowd.
When asked about the extension, Cadungog said that’s up to Comelec Manila.
The registration will only be until July 31.