Spare a day of sacrifice for 3 years of good governance, voters told

“JUST sacrifice one day of your life for three years of good governance,” said Commission on Elections (Comelec) Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano on the elections.

He admitted that lines will still be long, but because of the country's previous experience with precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, the Comelec has made improvements to prevent the problems experienced in the 2010 elections this May.

Instead of issuing priority numbers, Comelec would enforce voting on a first come, first serve basis.

The reason for this is the possibility of the person giving the numbers to prioritize allies of a particular party or group.

Senior citizens will still have their express lane, but it does not mean that all senior citizens will be made to vote first and others would just follow.

Some precincts in the 2010 elections finished the voting for senior citizens before going to regular voters, which prompted some to go home because of the long queue and the lengthy waiting time.

During the 2010 post election assessment, Comelec officials concurred that chairs would be more convenient for voters. If people wait in line with chairs, they would be less likely to get cranky.

Another change that was included in the Fair Elections Act in connection with the May 13, 2013 elections is the use of the Internet as a medium to campaign for one's candidacy.

Dubbed as Online Election Propaganda, the Comelec has put a requirement to political campaign materials in matter of pixels. The requirements are specified in Resolution 9615.

“Said online advertisement, whether procured by purchase, or given free of charge, shall not be published more than three times a week per website during the campaign period,” the resolution reads.

Blogs and social networking sites will not be considered online election propaganda.

The more common media for election campaign such as print, radio and television are still in effect and will also have limitations.

Election propaganda for broadsheets should not be more than a quarter of an entire page and not more than half of a page in tabloids. Publicity should not be more than three times a week.

In broadcast, advertisement should not be more than 120 minutes for television and 180 minutes for radio for candidates running for national positions.

The length is shorter—60 minutes for television, 90 minutes for radio—for those running for local positions.