Philippines votes for village, youth leaders

Oct 25, 2010, 6:57 GMT

Manila - Millions of Filipinos flocked Monday to polling precincts throughout the country to elect village and youth leaders amid reports of cheating, violence and delays in voting.

President Benigno Aquino, who voted early at his hometown in the northern province of Tarlac, urged the people to go out and vote wisely.

More than 50 million voters (18 years old and above) were eligible to vote for village officials while 2.46 million youths (15 to 17) were eligible to vote for youth representatives.

'We hope that despite the delay in voting in some areas, the public will be allowed to exercise their right to vote,' Aquino said. 'The barangay [village] is the face of the government we see most often in our daily lives, hence its importance in our democracy.'

Aquino criticized the Commission on Elections for its failure to deliver poll paraphernalia on time, delaying the voting in several areas.

'It seems the preparation was not done well,' he said. 'We have to find out the reason for this.'

James Jimenez, a commission spokesman, said the problems were caused by travel hitches and shipping delays.

'There were several instances where delivery trucks suffered flat tires,' he said. 'In some cases, they left Manila late because of shipping problems, and flights were not available.'

Commission Chairman Jose Melo added that some ballots had to be reprinted, adding to the delay.

Director Benjamin Belarmino, deputy police chief for operations, said there were reports of sporadic violence in far-flung villages during the voting.

Forty-one election-related violent incidents were reported from September 25 with 32 deaths and 15 injuries, Belarmino said. In 2007 village elections, 67 incidents of election-related violence occurred with 69 casualties.

'Compared to the previous village elections, this year's elections are more peaceful,' he said. 'We hope the casualties will not increase anymore.'

Belarmino said among the violence reported on election day was the killing of a former town councilor in Gapan town in the northern province of Nueva Ecija.

An explosion injured one on the southern island of Jolo while there were also sporadic reports of ballot snatching in several areas.

Late Sunday, a town councilor was also shot dead by an unidentified gunman in San Miguel town in the southern province of Surigao del Sur.