HONORARIA. A voter feeds his ballot into the vote counting machine (VCM) with assistance of DepED employee at Precinct No. 299 in Bagong Nayon 1 Elementary School, Cogeo, Antipolo City on May 9. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday (May 16, 2022) assured additional pay for teachers and poll workers who have rendered extended duty hours due to defective VCMs and secure digital or SD cards. (PNA file photo by Rico H. Borja) MANILA - Teachers who served additional hours as poll workers during the May 9 elections will receive an additional honorarium, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday. In the Laging Handa press briefing, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said the Comelec en banc has already approved the request "in principle." "That's approved in principle. The en banc has already discussed it yesterday. We are now identifying what and where did the incidents take place, where were the defective machines, wherein teachers were force
FINAL STAGE. A voter feeds his ballot into the vote-counting machine at Precinct No. 299 of Bagong Nayon 1 Elementary School, Cogeo, Antipolo City on Monday (May 9, 2022). The Commission on Elections said the national and local polls were generally peaceful and the results are accurate so far. (PNA photo by Rico H. Borja) MANILA - The surge in mobile phone sales in Surigao del Sur cannot be automatically attributed to vote-buying, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Sunday. Acting Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said reports that popular mobile phone brands were sold out in three shopping malls in the towns of Tagbina, Barobo, and Lianga should not be linked to poll-related violations. "Coming not from the Comelec but coming from siguro (perhaps) a lawyer's point of view, the escalation of the purchases in itself does not automatically mean anomalies or crimes," he said in a press briefing. Escalation of purchases cannot even be considered a crime. "I
SAFE VOTING. Voters shade their ballots at Precinct No. 299 in Bagong Nayon 1 Elementary School, Cogeo, Antipolo City on Monday (May 9, 2022). The Commission on Elections has not received reports that would indicate there was massive cheating or major irregularity in the polls. (PNA photo by Rico Borja) MANILA - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Task Force Kontra Bigay (Anti-Bribe) has received more than 1,000 reports of vote-buying but nothing significant to affect the outcome of the May 9 polls. In a press conference at the PICC Forum Tent in Pasay City on Saturday, Commissioner and task force chief Aimee Ferolino said they will file cases on at least 100 complaints that have supporting evidence. The complaints involve candidates and supporters alike. "As I've said, nanawagan tayo sa mga tao na kung magreklamo tayo kailangan may kalakip na ebidensya at mayroon din magti-testify kasi kahit gustuhin man namin na imbestigahan, we do not know where to start if you just give
YOUNG VOTER. A young voter feeds his ballot into the vote-counting machine with assistance at precinct No. 299 at the Bagong Nayon 1 Elementary School, Cogeo, Antipolo City on Monday (May 9, 2022). Some 61 million Filipinos are expected to participate in this year's polls. (PNA photo by Rico H. Borja) MANILA - Despite some glitches in the use of vote-counting machines (VCMs) in some precincts, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said the election is still under control. "We would like to assure everybody that the Comelec is in full control of what is happening right now. The election is still ongoing," Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said during a press conference at the PICC in Pasay City. Though there were glitches, Garcia noted no single ballot was reportedly "missing." "We would like to assure the public that these are anticipated," he noted. Garcia said all the glitches were already resolved by the Comelec operation centers and by t
RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. Voters who are at least a foot apart from each other fill up their ballots on their armchairs for the national and local elections at precinct No. 299 in Bagong Nayon 1 Elementary School, Cogeo, Antipolo City on Monday (May 9, 2022). Some 61 million Filipinos are expected to participate in this year's polls. (PNA photo by Rico Borja) MANILA - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is expecting to surpass the voter turnout in the May 2016 polls as the election returns (ERs) of the May 9, 2022 national and local elections started to come in. Lawyer John Rex Laudiangco, Comelec spokesperson, said they are expecting more than 80 percent of registered voters have participated in Monday's electoral exercise. "We can see based on the turnout that was reported to us, the queue of people, how early the people arrived, actually the precincts are filled to the brim," he said in a press briefing Monday evening. "Historically the voter turnout of the preside