Feature: Victory for the Filipino people
by Noel Baguio
Davao City (18 May) -- The resounding success of the May 10 elections was a victory for the Filipino people and for our democracy.
Reelected Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario congratulated the Commission on Elections for the successful conduct of the country's first automated polls in spite of all the apprehensions.
While there were a lot of delays because of some glitches in various components of the automated election system, the governor noted the Comelec laid to rest many fears about automation and managed to restore the people's faith in the electoral process.
"I personally give credit to the Comelec for the very impressive conduct of a peaceful, honest and credible elections," he said.
He said this clearly signals the age of optimism that Filipinos can now ensure transparency and efficiency in the democratic process.
"We can now look forward for a transparent and efficient elections the next time around," he cheered.
The reelectionist governor lauded the effort of the teachers who served as election inspectors well, together with the military and the police who ensured the conduct of peaceful polls, since there were no untoward events reported in the province during the elections.
He also thanked the people for delivering a good result for the province.
Davao del Norte has 464,791 voters. Of this, a total of 358,428 electorates actually voted, posting a 77 percent turn-out in the elections.
Except for some delays, the governor said he was satisfied with the outcome of the elections.
But, he noted the numbers could have been higher in the province if it did not rain and if the queues were not that long and if the BEIs were trained enough to minimize the delays.
People had to endure the inconveniences of heat, humidity and confusion as they lined up for several hours just to cast their ballots.
The governor said the voter's discomfort could be minimized by providing more machines and more manpower. The clustered precincts should also be broken into a maximum of 500 voters per cluster so that it would be easier the next time around.
"If there is any way Comelec could facilitate the easy issuance of ballots and prevent those long lines the next time around, then I think it would be another feather on its cap," he quipped. (PIA) [top]
