Pasig voters endure long lines; call out Comelec for more ACMs

INQUIRER.net / LUISA CABATO

MANILA, Philippines — Hours and hours of queuing inconvenienced some voters at Nagpayong Elementary School in Pasig City—the polling center with the highest number of registered voters nationwide.

One of them was Marque Anacta from clustered precinct 351, who first lined up at 10 a.m. but went home due to the long line.

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Unfortunately, when he returned at 3 p.m., the line had barely moved, and he was eventually overtaken by the 7 p.m. voting hours closure.

INQUIRER.net / LUISA CABATO

“Instead of requesting another machine, nothing has been provided yet,” Anacta said in Filipino when asked what could be the reason for the long lines.

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He then urged the Commission on Elections to allocate more automated counting machines for the next election.

“They should have allocated more than two or three machines so that at least by 5 p.m., it would have been finished,” said Anacta in Filipino.

Another voter from the same precinct, Jennifer Mendijar, also complained about the lengthy wait, noting that this was not the case in previous elections.

“This is the first time [it’s been this long]. The line is unbelievably long—my God, it’s almost eight o’clock and I’ve been here since one,” she said in Filipino.

Asked why she endured the long wait despite the heat and frustration, Mendijar said, “Our vote matters too. Of course, whoever we have in our hearts to vote for, that’s who we’ll vote for.”

According to the poll body, Nagpayong Elementary School in Pasig City’s 2nd district has 47,249 registered voters.

It was followed closely by Rosauro Almario Elementary School in Manila’s 1st district with 46,179 voters. /jpv