BAGUIO City is expecting a close competition in the lone congressional and mayoralty positions as some 146,230 registered voters are expected to flock 59 voting centers in Baguio City today, Monday.
Seeking for the highly contested congressional post are Representative Bernardo Vergara of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA)-Timpuyog ti Baguio, Councilor Nicasio Aliping of the Baguio Independent Democratic Alliance and Mark Go of the Liberal Party.
The congressional seat remains a highly sought position with several candidates bearing significant endorsements from various groups in their political sorties during the 45-day campaign period.
Vergara earlier bared his endorsements from senior citizens and the lowland residents of the city.
Aliping got his endorsements from the highland groups and other people whose family members are working overseas. The Iglesia Ni Cristo that has an estimated 8,000 members in the city has also endorsed him for Congress.
Meanwhile, various Christian and youth groups and the business sector have endorsed Go. He is also banking on the endorsement of President Benigno Aquino III.
The influential Hotel Restaurant Association of Baguio, however, left the position open for voters to decide, endorsing candidates only for mayoralty and vice mayoralty positions and the City Council seats.
In the mayoralty post, incumbent Mayor Mauricio Domogan of UNA-Timpuyog ti Baguio is running against political nemesis Jose Molintas of the Liberal Party. The two candidates have long bannered their supporters from both the lowland and highland residents of the city.
Incumbent Vice Mayor Daniel Farinas is expected to win in the vice mayoralty post with no other candidate expected to beat his decade-long experience as City Council presiding officer, as both the Go-Molintas tandem of the Liberal Party and Aliping’s BIDA party did not field any candidates to the post.
Candidates for the City Council expect a tight competition with some 50, including incumbents, battling it out for the 12 positions.
Commission on Elections Regional Director Nick Mendros advised residents Wednesday to go to their respective polling precinct early to avoid long lines.
Polls open as early as 7 a.m. and will remain open until 7 p.m. Only 10 voters are allowed to vote at any given time inside the polling precinct.
Mendros also advised voters to make lists of their candidates and to avoid making ambiguous markings in the ballots.
He also said that voters may under-vote for positions requiring 12 senators and councilors but advised strongly against over-voting as these will not be counted by the Precinct Count Optical Scan machines.