ACTING Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Al Parreño said the poll body is looking into the possible declaration of a failure of election in a barangay in Northern Samar.
According to Parreño, all precincts in the country have already ended the voting and reported to the poll body the status of the election in their areas as of press time, except for a village in Northern Samar.
"Elections are closed in almost all [polling precincts] except for one barangay in Northern Samar. Hindi pa sure if failure of elections will be declared," said Parreño.
The commission has yet to validate the report on the supposed failure of elections in the said area.
Parreño also disclosed the Comelec's decision to issue suspension orders against a total of 639 candidates who did not meet the qualifications set forth by the poll body.
He said the candidates among the 639 who will be declared as winners cannot assume their respective posts as they have been disqualified.
The names of the individuals were not disclosed to the media but according to Parreño, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) already has a copy of the documents.
The DILG has been tasked by the poll body to implement its order.
Parreño said the poll body will also file a complaint against 3,000 candidates who are yet to be disqualified by the Comelec for being over-age and non-registered voters in their barangays, among other reasons.
Parreño said the Integrated Bar of the Philippines will provide legal assistance to the candidates who will face the complaint filed moto propio by the poll body.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police said that the conduct of the polls is "generally successful" and "peaceful" as no major untoward incident was reported. (SunStar Philippines)