HIGHLIGHTS: 2023 barangay, Sangguniang Kabataan elections

The Commission on Elections finished canvassing ballots in all 42,001 villages in the Philippines on Wednesday, November 1, two days after voting day for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

The last holdout was Barangay Naguma in Calbayog City, Samar, where harassment tactics by a private armed group delayed the vote in the village by two days.

Residents there finally got to cast their ballots on Wednesday morning. Canvassing of the results and the proclamation of winners were made after.

The 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) finally commenced in Barangay Naguma, Calbayog City, Samar province on Wednesday, November 1, two days after the rest of the country voted for their new set of village and youth council leaders.

A command center report by the Commission on Elections said elections did not push through on Monday, October 30, after “unknown persons” harassed poll officers, and again on Tuesday, October 31, after soldiers “engaged in a firefight with harassing private armed groups.”

The incidents delayed the delivery of election paraphernalia in the far-flung village.

Most voters in Bulacan province received three ballots on Monday, October 30 – one for the barangay election, one for the Sangguniang Kabataan election, and one for the plebiscite seeking to convert San Jose del Monte (SJDM) into a highly urbanized city.

On Wednesday, November 1, canvassed results revealed that voters decided to keep San Jose del Monte under the provincial government, rejecting the SJDM city government’s bid to be administratively separate from the country’s second most populous province.

Read more. 

BACOLOD, Philippines — The October 30 barangay and Sanguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, were seen as “generally peaceful” by the police and military.

Negros Occidental Police Director Colonel Leo Pamittan and 303rd Infantry Brigade Chief Brigadier General Orlando Edralin said they did not receive any report about election-related violence in the 51 villages designated earlier as areas of concern by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Before election day, government forces deployed more than 5,000 security personnel across Negros Occidental and Bacolod City to ensure peace and order during this year’s local election.

Comelec officials, however, said they were looking into allegations of vote-buying. – Rappler.com

SAMAR, Philippines – Five armed men were wounded as they clashed with Army soldiers providing security aid to a group of election workers in Calbayog City on Tuesday, October 31.

Lawyer Chamles Lubaton, Calbayog election officer, was leading members of a board of election inspectors en route to Barangay Nag-uma to conduct a special election when the armed group attacked.

Soldiers caught one of the suspects who was armed with a caliber .45 pistol.

Samar Provincial Election Supervisor Corazon Montallana told Rappler that Lubaton and his team were safe, and more security forces were sent to the area. – Rappler.com

The elections in Barangay Naguma in Calbayog City, Samar has been pushed back to Wednesday, November 1.

Voting in the village did not push through on Monday, October 30, after insurgents fired at election and security officers, preventing them from delivering poll materials.

The Commission on Elections intended to push through with the elections on Tuesday, October 31, after the Armed Forces of the Philippines deployed more personnel, but the Comelec reported that the soldiers engaged in a firefight with “harassing private armed groups.”

The Commission on Elections said three persons deprived of liberty (PDL) won in the barangay elections.

They are:

• A PDL from Damariñas City Jail Male Dormitory (elected barangay council member in Barangay Datu Esmael, Dasmariñas City, Cavite)
• PDL from Tanay Municipal Jail (elected barangay council member in Barangay Kay Buto, Tanay, Rizal) 
• A PDL from Cagayan de Oro City Jail Male Dormitory (elected barangay council member in Barangay Ipunan, Cagayan de Oro City)

The first-ever mall voting for an electoral exercise in the Philippines saw a turnout of 65.28% for the barangay polls and 60.32% for the Sangguniang Kabataan polls.

“Voting in 11 malls has been very successful,” Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Nelson Celis said on Tuesday, October 31. “Our international observers said they want to see this again in 2025. Many of our mall voters gave positive feedback.”

Six SM Supermall branches and five Robinsons Mall branches participated in the pilot project. 

Turnout:

• Barangay elections: 9,453 participants out of 14,480 registered voters (65.28%)
• Sangguniang Kabataan elections: 2,453 out of 4,066 registered voters (60.32%)

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia said that disqualification complaints on grounds such as premature campaigning, illegal campaigning, and vote-buying will be fully resolved in less than two weeks from the October 30 vote. 

There are at least 46 barangay election winners who cannot assume their posts yet, after the Comelec suspended their proclamation due to their pending cases. 

“We will guarantee that there will be no vacuum of leadership in our villages,” he told Rappler on Monday. “Basic services should be delivered to the constituents in the barangay.” – Juliana Talde

The Commission on Elections, on Tuesday, October 31, tosses a coin to settle a tie between two candidates in Manila who received the same number of votes for the barangay elections.

The Omnibus Election Code allows the drawing of lots to settle elections resulting in tie.

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