Brillantes: Polls 'OK' despite ballot-snatching, 'isolated incidents'

MANILA, Philippines - Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said the conduct of this year's barangay polls seems to be "okay" amid several minor incidents reported on Monday.

At a televised press briefing on Monday afternoon, Brillantes said they recorded a "very minimal" number of 18 incidents from about 42,000 barangays nationwide.

Brillantes said this is lower than the number of incidents recorded in the 2010 barangay elections.

"So far, the ongoing voting appears to be okay except for some minor incidents," Brillantes said.

Among these were the delay in the arrival of election materials and opening of the polls in some areas, political harassment and shooting and gunfire incidents.

Instances of ballot box-snatching were also reported in a barangay in Samar and in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Brillantes said improvised ballots will be used in the said areas.

"These are very isolated cases. Hindi po talaga napakarami," said Brillantes, adding that remedies have been put in place in some of the reported incidents.

Brillantes also hopes that only minor incidents will be recorded as the Comelec enters the "critical stages" of the elections later in the day.

"We don't have much of a problem really up to this point in time. And we also anticipate that as we move into the more critical stages like counting and canvassing, sana ganito rin ang report - isolated cases," Brillantes explained.

Poll watchdog Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) also reported that "recurring problems" marred Monday's elections such as vote-buying and selling incidents, unlawful electioneering, unauthorized entry of candidates in the polling places and disenfranchisement of votes.

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) lamented that the barangay elections are now similar to the national polls due to political violence and other election offenses.

"The violence has really escalated. Vote-buying, too, and sadly, even vote-selling," said PPCRV chair Henrietta de Villa. "By baranggay na talaga. Nakakalungkot."

Related stories: LENTE reports vote-buying, poll offenses | PPCRV chair: 2013 Barangay polls more heated, politicized, expensive