Kalayaan island posts fastest vote

MANILA, Philippines - Voting on Kalayaan island in the hotly contested Spratly archipelago was over in just six hours, the fastest ever recorded in the country’s history.

First Lieutenant Cherryl Tindog, Western Command (Wescom) spokesperson, said voting on the island, which is part of Palawan, started at 7 a.m. yesterday and ended at 1 p.m., with all 288 registered voters casting their ballots.

“The polls on the island started as scheduled and remained peaceful. The provincial Comelec (Commission on Elections) had announced earlier that the election in Kalayaan was expected to finish earlier than the rest of the province,” Tindog said.

Election paraphernalia were flown to the island before the May 13 elections and registered voters based at the Kalayaan’s satellite office in Puerto Princesa flew home to vote yesterday.

Tindog said they were awaiting results of the three-cornered political contest for mayor.

Aside from incumbent Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon, Puerto Princesa City-based businessman Noel Osorio and Rosendo Mantes, a retired military man, are contesting the mayoralty post in the island town located in the middle of territorial conflict among Spratlys-claimant countries, like China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

While voting was fast, there were also reports of vote-buying, with one candidate reportedly offering P5,000 to the islanders for every vote cast for him.

Kalayaan town, whose seat of government is located on Pag-Asa Island, is composed of the country’s regime of seven islands and two reefs.

Formerly a military garrison of Filipino troops until it was converted into a civilian community, Kalayaan town on Pag-Asa island continues to host soldiers deployed in the area to protect and defend the country’s sovereign rights.