Ernie Esconde/Philippine News Agency
SAMAL, Bataan — Voting is going smoothly in 167 voting centers in the 237 barangays of 11 towns and one city in Bataan as of noon on Monday, a local poll official said.
The province has a total of 545,507 registered voters.
Gilda Rodrigo, assistant provincial election supervisor, said all 695 vote counting machines (VCMs) for 695 clustered precincts were functioning well.
“On standby are additional 73 VCMs for contingency,” she noted.
Many voters in Bataan were already at the polling centers as early as 5:30 a.m.
“Para makayari sa pagboto agad (so that I could finish voting immediately),” said Poyeng Sierra, a senior citizen, when asked why she was so early.
At the Santa Lucia Elementary School in Samal, people crowded around the list of voters posted near the door of polling precincts to look for their names.
No untoward incident has so far been reported by the police in the province during the balloting process.
