Comelec’s Garcia: First day of local absentee voting went smoothly

The start of the 3-day local absentee voting (LAV), which will run from April 27 to April 30, went smoothly, Commission on Elections  Commissioner George Garcia said Wednesday.

“Sobrang naging maayos naman po ang pagsisimula ng botohan para sa local absentee voting. Hindi naman po sila ganoon kadami mga 84,000 lang po more or less. Pero just the same po talagang nakita natin ang init ng pagtanggap lalong-lalo na ‘yung mga nasa Armed Forces, PNP, at kapatid sa pamamahayag,” Garcia said in an interview on G TV’s Balitanghali.

(The polls for the local absentee voting started very well. They are not that many, only about 84,000 more or less. But just the same, we really saw the warmth of reception, especially those in the Armed Forces, PNP, and personnel in the media.)

According to the Comelec, around 84,357 voters have been allowed to avail of LAV.

However, the applications of 9,341 individuals were disapproved because they are either not registered or have been deactivated.

The Comelec said a total of 93,698 military, police, government and media personnel applied for LAV for the 2022 elections.

LAV will vote manually for national positions: president, vice president, senators and party-list.

“Kasi dahil ang eleksyon lamang ay national positions, yung mga makina kasi natin ay naka-program para sa national and local elections. At the same time dahil hindi naman po ganoon kadami at hindi naman sabay-sabay ang pagboto nila kasi nga po tatlong araw sila boboto, so hindi po tulad sa computerized election na isang buong araw,” Garcia explained.

(Since LAV can only vote for national positions, our machines are programmed for national and local elections. At the same time because there are not that many and they don't vote at the same time, because they vote for three days, so it's not like a computerized election that takes a whole day.)

LAV votes will be canvassed at the Comelec main office in Intramuros, Manila, after polling precincts close on May 9 at 7 p.m. — Mel Matthew Doctor/RSJ, GMA News