AT LEAST 2.47 million, or 80 percent, of the over three million registered voters in Cebu are expected to go to polling precincts for the local and national elections on Monday, May 13.
In a phone interview Sunday, May 12, Acting Commission on Elections (Comelec) 7 Director Veronico Petalcorin said he expects a turnout of 80 to 85 percent.
“That is actually considered high,” he said.
The turnout in the May 2018 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections was 74.74 percent, or 2,158,083 of the 2,887,455 registered voters .
During the 2016 national and local elections, 1,964,547, or around 84.95 percent, of the 2,312,593 voters cast their ballots.
The 3,082,621 voters registered in Cebu include those from the highly urbanized cities of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu.
In an earlier report, Provincial Elections Supervisor (now acting Siquijor elections supervisor) Lionel Marco Castillano attributed the rise in new voters to those who just turned 18 and migrants who transferred their voter registration here in Cebu.
Cebu City has the largest number of registered voters at 709,608; followed by Mandaue City, 226,091; and Lapu-Lapu City, 214,117.
The first district has the highest number of voters totaling 431,872. It is composed of the cities of Talisay, Naga and Carcar and the towns of Minglanilla, San Fernando and Sibonga.
This is followed by the third district, which is composed of Toledo City and the towns of Aloguinsan, Asturias, Balamban, Barili, Pinamungajan and Tuburan, with 369,341 registered voters.
It is followed by the sixth district with 350,166 registered voters. The sixth district is composed of Mandaue City and the towns of Consolacion and Cordova.
The fifth district has 366,162 registered voters. It is composed of Danao City and the towns of Borbon, Carmen, Catmon, Compostela, Liloan, Pilar, Poro, San Francisco, Sogod and Tudela.
The fourth district has 323,278 registered voters and is composed of Bogo City and the towns of Bantayan, Daanbantayan, Madridejos, Medellin, San Remigio, Santa Fe, Tabogon and Tabuelan.
The second district, which is composed of the towns of Alcoy, Argao, Boljoon, Dalaguete, Oslob, Samboan and Santander, has 161,412 voters.
The seventh district, which is composed of the towns of Alcantara, Alegria, Badian, Dumanjug, Ginatilan, Malabuyoc, Moalboal and Ronda, has 156,665 voters.
Petalcorin said the Comelec is ready and that they have already released election paraphernalia to all 3,716 polling precincts in the province.
He said elections are held on a Monday so voters and candidates can pray and ask for guidance.
“There is still time to think thoroughly of whom to vote and enough time to ask for acceptance, win or lose,” Petalcorin said.
Polling precincts will open at 6 a.m.
Petalcorin advised voters to go early and to prepare a list of candidates when they cast their ballots to hasten the voting process.
He also advised them to bring a snack, water, fans and umbrellas, especially in areas with large voting populations.
On the eve of election day, the selling, buying, serving and taking of intoxicating liquor are not allowed along with the giving and accepting of free transportation, food or things of value.
On election day, campaigning, voting more than once or substituting for another are also prohibited.
Other prohibited activities include soliciting votes, opening booths or stalls to sell refreshments within a radius of 30 meters from polling places and the holding of fairs, cockfights, boxing or any other similar sports
Police Regional Office 7 Director Debold Sinas said that as of 5 p.m. last Sunday, they’d arrested 54 liquor ban violators.
“Don’t drink because we will arrest you. And you cannot exercise your right to vote since you’ll be sleeping inside the detention cell in the police station,” Sinas said.
He said they are also looking into the possibility of filing charges against establishments that sold the liquor.
The police official also advised supporters of candidates to keep a cool head.
“Just relax and don’t fight. Because at the end of the day, after the elections, you still live in the same place,” he said.
Sinas inspected police stations in the southern part of Cebu, including San Fernando, which had a lot of election-related violence that resulted in the deaths of four candidates.
He said they deployed additional augmentation and K9 units to beef up the town’s security.
For his part, Police Major Lymel Pasquin, San Fernando Police Station chief, said they will be on the lookout for vote buying, the selling of liquor and illegal firearms.
Meanwhile, Omar Sharif Mamalinta, Comelec Cebu City election assistant II, said they are “100 percent” ready for Monday’s polls.
The vote counting machines that had problems during the final testing and sealing last Friday, May 10, and Saturday, May 11, have been fixed or replaced, he said, adding that classrooms for senior citizens, persons with disability and pregnant women are also ready.
Mamalinta reminded voters to be patient while undergo a biometric fingerprint verification.
He said the poll office will be using a voter registration verification machine (VRVM) to obtain the fingerprint of the voter. Once the machine recognizes the voter, it will show the voter’s data and picture. Only then will the voter get a ballot and a marking pen, Mamalinta.
Mamalinta urged voters to pick the right candidates.
“Di kay abi’g naay kwarta, mabayran na diay ka? Hunahunaon dapat ang future nato (Just because they’re offered money, they’ll sell their votes. They must think of our future),” he said. (WITH JOB, JJL)