Villar casts vote, leaves precinct worried about disenfranchisement

Casting his vote on Monday might have been easy for Sen. Manuel "Manny" Villar Jr. But the Nacionalista Party bet still left the precinct center in Las Pinas with some worries in his mind. Villar, who arrived at the STI College precinct center at Talon 2 village past noon, expressed concerns about the long lines he witnessed as he entered the venue. "Kinakabahan ako kasi nakita ko ang haba ng pila. Hindi natin talaga alam kung ilang porsyento ang nakakaboto," Villar told reporters after casting his vote. (I was apprehensive when I saw how long the lines were. We still don’t know how many people voted.) Besides glitches in the precinct count optical scan machines, long lines in precinct areas had been reported across the Philippines — which critics say may not only delay the process but end up disenfranchising voters. The Commission on Elections has already extended voting hours from until 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday. "Pagka masyadong maliit ang porsyento [ng makakaboto], nakakalungkot yan kasi that means ang daming nadi-disenfranchise," he added. (It will be sad to know if the percentage of voters who cast their ballots are too small. This means a lot of voters have been disenfranchised.) But the senator himself was able to breeze through the long lines simply because he was already a senior citizen, for whom a separate but shorter queue had been designated. He turned 60 last December. Erlina Legaspi, a master teacher from the Talon Elementary School who acts as a supervisor of the Board of Election Inspectors, said there were no problems in the counting machines as of Monday noon. The biggest issue they encountered was several incidents of voters failing to find their names in the voters' list. "Maganda naman ang takbo dito [Everything is going smoothly]," Legaspi told GMANews.TV. The STI precinct houses some 70 original precincts that were clustered into just 13 new precincts. She also noted the long queues formed at the polling center, saying the people might have just been "too excited to vote since it's the first automated polls." Villar arrived at the polling center with his wife Cynthia, both of them wearing their trademark orange attires. Upon reaching the voting booth, the situation inside the venue turned raucous as photojournalists scrambled to get a shot of the senator. An election voter was even prompted to bellow, "Ang bastos niyo naman. Nababastos itong mga botante [That's so disrespectful. You are disrespecting the voters]." Her tirades were directed at some photojournalists who ended up pushing around voters just to get near Villar. After casting his vote, Villar reminded the public that the election process does not end in voting, adding that the people should be more vigilante with the canvassing and transmission of votes. "Simula pa lang ang proseso... Tignan muna natin ang porsyente bago natin sabihin na matagumpay ito," he said. Villar said he felt "more relaxed" now that the three-month campaign period has finally come to an end. He took delight at the idea that he could finally spend some time with his wife and daughter now that elections are about to end — something he could not do ever since he announced his bid for presidency. "Excited na ko na tapos na at sana maayos [ang kalabasan ng botohan] at kung hindi maayos baka maging active na naman tayo," Villar said. (I’m excited that everything’s over and I wish that it turns out well. If they don’t, I just might be forced to become active again.) As he was leaving the venue, Villar — portrayed in his political advertisements as someone who rose from poverty — even stopped at a nearby sidewalk store to buy refreshments. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV