Soldiers, police vote ahead of May 9 polls
Senior Supt. Armando Radoc sealed his votes during the absentee voting at the Police Regional Office 7. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
ABOUT 112 soldiers assigned at the Armed Forces Central Command (Centcom) voted in yesterday’s local absentee voting.
The voting started at past 8 a.m. with Lt. Gen. Nicanor Vivar, Centcom commander, casting his vote.
“This is our right to suffrage. This is the only way we can contribute to society regarding voting. At ito lang ang aming pwedeng gawin bukod pa dun sa pagsisigurado na maayos yung election natin (And this is what we can do aside from ensuring that the elections are peaceful),” Vivar told reporters.
Vivar said the military has always pushed for their right to exercise their votes.
“As good citizens of the country, we want to vote,” he said.
Asst. Regional Director Veronico Petalcorin of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) oversaw the manual voting done at the Centcom’s De Goma Hall.
Petalcorin said all ballots will be sent to Manila through a courier. He said the votes are secured since their ballots have been signed and sealed.
The Police Regional Office reported that 202 police officers cast their votes across Central Visayas.
Supt. Armando Radoc, PRO-7’s directorate chief of staff, said 15 policemen including Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan, former PRO-7 chief, cast their votes.
Five police officers including Cebu City police chief Senior Supt. Benjamin Santos Jr., voted at the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).
Senior Insp. David Señor, Cebu City police chief of operations, served as chairman of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) for the police.
Santos, who hails from Luzon, cast his vote along with Senior Insp. Homobono Sayon who is from Bohol province and is stationed at the Mambaling police precinct.
Police, soldiers and media practitioners who were assigned to other places during the May 9 elections are allowed to vote provided they applied for and secured Comelec approval.
Those who joined in the absentee voting can only vote for candidates running for president, vice president, the Senate and partylist group./
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