DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/13 May) – Voters at the Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School, where President Rodrigo R. Duterte had voted in previous elections, complained about having to wait for long and suffer the heat inside the polling precincts.
Mae Rose Dionela, 36, went to the school at 7 a.m. with her neighbor, Jasmin Dichos, 33, hoping she could cast her votes ahead of several other voters from her barangay.
But Dionela entered her designated classroom, which accommodated voters from eight precincts, at 10 a.m. or some three hours later.
She said she was frustrated at the “disorganized” voting system and questioned why voters from several precincts had to be packed in one classroom, resulting in long queues and several other impatient voters going home.
Although the school provided a holding area for voters outside the classrooms, Dionela said it had resulted in more inconvenience because it created confusion among the voters.
She said many others did not want to stay inside the holding area, shared by voters from her designated classroom and that of the adjacent classroom that catered to voters from 15 precincts, because they were dripping with sweat due to poor ventilation.
“Because of that, I entered a wrong classroom. The watcher did not inform me that I was supposed to be at the other classroom. I went out and waited in line again,” she said.
Her experience during the past elections was far better, she said.
She added she would endure the long queues to cast her vote for her senatorial candidates, a mix of administration and opposition bets, whom she believed can lead the country better.
Bonifacia Oregenes, 59, said she had been waiting for two hours since 8 a.m. and like Dionela, she also complained about the slow-paced movement of the voters.
Frustrated, Oregenes said she wanted to give up and go home instead
Dichos, 33, was lucky as everything went well at her designated classroom.
She said it did not take long for her to cast her vote. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)