Photo Essay : Brgy election mess-ups

: PWD. An elder person with disability was among the early birds in the polling center in Cesario Villa-Abrille Elementary School in Bucana (Brgy. 76-A). (davaotoday.com photo by Tyrone A. Velez)

: LOST. Hercules Gemigaya, 69, searches for his name in precincts in Daniel R. Aguinaldo National HIgh School but goes home after searching for hours to no avail. (davaotoday.com photo by John Rizle L. Saligumba)

: DIRECTION. Alejandro Curay, Principal of the Matina Central Pilot Elementary School mans the list of voters to help voters find their precincts in the polling place. (davaotoday.com photo by John Rizle L. Saligumba)

: LISTING. Voters in Buhangin Elementary School search for their names in the voters’ list with the help of teachers acting as election tellers, but some end up frustrated not finding their names. (davaotoday.com photo by Ace R. Morandante)

: COMING TO VOTE. Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Carlos Zarate flies in from Manila to vote in his precinct in Matina Elementary School, saying choosing barangay officials matter as they are in the frontlines for residents 24/7. (davaotoday.com photo by John Rizle L. Saligumba)

: MAYOR’S CHOICE. Mayor Rodrigo Duterte casts his vote in Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School around 2 pm. He did not divulge his candidate to the media as he said the barangay polls are supposed to be non-partisan. (davaotoday.com photo by John Rizle L. Saligumba)

photos by EARL O. CONDEZA, MEDEL V. HERNANI, ACE R. MORANDANTE, JOHN RIZLE L. SALIGUMBA and TYRONE A. VELEZ
Davao Today

Davao City – Monday’s barangay election posed the same problem: Voters failing to find their names, teachers serving as board of election tellers (BETs) exhausted while delivering ballot boxes late at night to the Commission on Elections.

Confusion happened in some polling places when supporters of candidates blocked BETs from delivering ballot boxes without escorts. Teachers explained that they were left by the Comelec to look for vehicles. Police mobile cars came later to escort the BETs and ballot boxes.

: PREPARATION. Board of election tellers (BETs) sort the ballots before counting. (davaotoday.com photo by Medel V. Hernani)

: CROWDED WATCH. Supporters of candidates crowd the doorway in SIR Elementary School (Brgy. 76-A) as canvassing of the votes begins after three pm. (davaotoday.com photo by Medel V. Hernani)

: FLOOD. Flood from the afternoon rain did not stop these people from watching the counting of votes in SIR Elementary School. (davaotoday.com photo by Tyrone A. Velez)

: CANVASSING. Teachers acting as board of election tellers do manual canvassing in totaling the votes. (davaotoday.com photo by Tyrone A. Velez)

: RUSH. Board of election tellers (BETs) rush to ride a police patrol car to ensure the safety of ballot boxes as confusion ensued when supporters of candidates blocked them off from delivering the ballot boxes by themselves. (davaotoday.com photo by John Rizle L. Saligumba)

: YELLOW. A sea of yellow ballot boxes stand atop teachers’ heads as they waited the whole night outside Almendras Gym to deliver the ballot boxes. With the Comelec officers’ insistence to limit their entry to the gym, some teachers end up losing patience over waiting so long. (davaotoday.com photo by Tyrone A. Velez)

: TIRED HERO. The motto in this teacher’s shirt is an understatement to her ordeal of waiting whole night to deliver the ballot boxes to the Comelec officers. (davaotoday.com photo by Tyrone A. Velez)

: SLEEP. One teacher comes prepared with a hammock to catch some sleep as he waits for his turn to deliver the ballot box to the Comelec.(davaotoday.com photo by Tyrone A. Velez)

But in Almendras Gym, where first district barangay ballot boxes were deposited, teachers were made to wait in a long queue as Comelec officers allowed one BET at a time to enter the premises.

These caused hundreds of BETs to complain as they wait outside, some not being able to eat their dinner. Others began banging the ballot boxes in the fiber glass door or grills to call the attention of Comelec officers.

Teachers, as well as voters, again air out their complaints over the lack of clear system and coordination with Comelec in this election. They have to wait for another three years to see if changes will happen. (davaotoday.com)