PORAC, Pampanga -- Despite the visible destruction brought by the recent 6.1-magnitude earthquake here, Aeta communities in Barangays Dias and Camias trooped to polling precincts to cast their votes for the local and national positions.
Polling precincts opened at 6 a.m. Monday. Unlike other barangays in Porac, there were shorter lines in polling precincts in Dias and Camias, there are fewer Aeta voters. The polling precincts were placed in buildings unaffected by the recent quake.
The Municipal Government of Porac said there were available rooms that were not damaged by the recent earthquake.
In other areas of Porac, there were long queues at the Porac Model Community, Poblacion, Planas and Santa Cruz as early as 8 a.m. The said barangays have considerable number of registered voters.
There were few reported instances of unread ballots but voting continued uninterrupted in most barangays as of press time.
Senatorial candidate Lito Lapid cast his vote in downtown Porac just before 7 a.m. He said he is hopeful for a win in the national race and was also optimistic that his son Mark will be able to make it in the local race.
The younger Lapid is running for mayor against Dexter David and Jing Capil.
The elder Lapid has been a senator for two consecutive terms, from 2004 to 2016, under the Nationalist People's Coalition. He was able to further boost his popularity when he played in the hit television series “Ang Probinsyano.”