People wait to enter the San Nicolas Elementary School in Cebu City. | Paul Lauro
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Confusion marred the first few hours of voting at the Mandaue City Central School.
Several individuals had to repeatedly scan the list of voters posted outside the polling centers to look for their names.
Romy, 56, said it took him about 20 minutes before he was finally able to locate his name as he visited the different clustered precincts in Barangay Alang-Alang where he lives.
Voters at the Mandaue City Central School look for their names from the voter’s list. | Doris C. Bongcac
Changes were made on the precinct assignments of some voters this election as a result of the clustering of precincts and the effort of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to already remove from the list those who were no longer qualified to vote or who might have already transferred their registration from their master list.
Those who were unable to locate their names from the list of voters were advised to visit the Comelec office for assistance.
| BEIs make sure that their vote counting machine is functional before they started to accommodate voters. | Doris Bongcac
Voting centers in Mandaue City and other parts of Cebu opened at exactly 6 a.m.
At the Mandaue City Central School, the assigned voting area for residents of Barangays Alang-Alang, Centro and Mantuyong, the flow of people was slow moving at the school’s main entrance because of the need to undergo a temperature scan prior to entry.
Voters crowd undergo temperature check prior to entry at the Mandaue City Central School. | Doris Bongcac
Voters are then directed to their designated waiting areas before they are called to their assigned precincts to vote.
Voting normally takes five to 10 minutes. The need to line up takes longer, at least 30 minutes to an hour.
Priority was given to senior citizens and Persons with Disability.
Seniors wait for their turn to vote at the Tisa Elementary School in Cebu City. Delta Letigio
In Cebu City, Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said voting had been peaceful and orderly two hours since the polling centers opened at 6 a.m.
But he noted minor concerns like parents, who brought their kids with them, and traffic congestion near public schools.
READ: Tumulak calls out ‘massive’ vote buying in Cebu City: Shame on them