Barangay polls kick off; missing names, violence reported

MANILA, Philippines - Hundreds of voters trooped to their polling precincts early Monday to vote for the next village officials, but the elections are so far clouded with reports of disenfranchised voters and violence.

Forner Ambassador Henrietta de Villa, convenor of Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), said that poll watchers are recording incidents of ballot snatching and missing names of voters in lists in some areas in the country.

"I even received a text message from (the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) that a PPCRV poll watcher was beaten up by a (barangay) candidate. 'Wag naman sila manununtok at nangpapatay," De Villa said in a radio interview on Monday.

Comelec failed to deliver election paraphernalia to the Calayan Islands due to intermittent weather and rough seas, declaring a suspension in the local polls.

Kalayaan polls are moved to October 30 and 31, following the suspension of elections in conflict-stricken Zamboanga City and earthquake-ravaged Bohol province, Comelec said.

The poll body also reported an incident of ballot-snatching in Catubig, Northern Samar around midnight on Sunday.

National police spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac said 22 people have been killed while 27 are injured in violence linked to political rivalries especially in Mindanao over the past month. In 2010, 15 were killed in election-related aggression.

Related: 22 killed ahead of barangay elections

Meanwhile, police said the opening of elections in Quezon City and Metro Manila is generally peaceful.

Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes, Jr. was among the earliest to queue at 7:00 a.m. in Barangay BF Homes in Parañaque City and talked to several residents afterwards.

Brillantes said that a higher number of voters is expected than in that May 13 national elections when only 76 percent of registered voters cast their ballots.

"We expect this election to have 79 to 80 percent voter turnout," he said.

The Commission on Elections there are 94,124 candidates for 42,028 barangay chair positions in the country, while 715,012 are running for 294,196 posts for barangay kagawad.