Comelec: Ormoc plebiscite to merge barangays off to a good start

Saturday's Ormoc City plebiscite to either ratify or reject an ordinance merging 28 barangays into three and renaming one barangay was off to a good start, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.

"So far po napakaayos, napakaganda ng nangyayaring plebisito (So far the plebiscite being held was orderly and going well)," Comelec Chairman George Garcia said in a briefing.

"So far so good," added Garcia, who personally supervised the plebiscite in Ormoc City with the majority of the Comelec en banc.

Garcia said he expects the voter turnout in Ormoc City will be higher than that of the Maguindanao plebiscite's 86.4%.

A "yes" vote in the Ormoc plebiscite will result in the merger of Barangay Districts 14, 20, 21, 22, 19, 26, and 24 into Barangay West; Districts 9, 10, 11, 16, 18, 25, and 28 into Barangay East; Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 15, 17, 23, and 27 into Barangay South; while Barangay North will be renamed District 29.

According to Garcia, the newly merged barangay would be able to participate in the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on December 5, 2022, should it push through.

Accredited by the Comelec as a citizens’ arm, the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) said they observed that the city government and the Comelec "satisfied the administrative, legal, and reportorial requirements for the conduct of the Plebiscite."

In an update, the NAMFREL said the voting ran "smoothly and orderly" during the first half of the Plebiscite in 35 polling precincts within the single voting center at the Ormoc City Central School.

NAMFREL said the voting started at 7 a.m. in most of the 35 polling precincts, with a few opening earlier than 7 a.m.

However, crowding was reported along a narrow hallway in one of the polling precincts, with several senior citizens and PWDs waiting their turn.

A queue of voters who wanted to vote early as they had to report for work also formed at the entrance

The crowding was resolved at around 11:20 a.m.

NAMFREL also observed a strong campaign by the proponents of a YES vote with their message of bringing “government closer to the people, making basic and quality services readily available, responsive, and efficient.” — DVM, GMA News