Tension grips barangay, SK elections in Puerto Princesa

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — Voting came to a halt at a polling center in an elementary school in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan on Monday morning after approximately six men forcefully entered, locked the door and tore unused ballots in a clustered precinct.

Regent Magbanua, chairman of the Election Board, said that the incident took place at 10:52 a.m. in precincts 0121B and 0122A at the Puerto Princesa Pilot Elementary School. The men seized the ballot box and ripped apart three booklets of unused ballots.

"They locked the door, took the ballot box and tore all the ballots," Magbanua said.

These two precincts in Barangay Princesa had approximately 342 registered voters for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, but only 133 had voted before the incident.

The torn ballots were then scattered on the classroom floor, according to Magbanua. The men allegedly returned the ballot box only when he demanded it back. However, it was locked and the keys were missing.

"We can't identify who entered. When they entered, they took that (ballot box). They returned it, but the ballot box was locked," Magbanua explained.

The incumbent chairman, Leo Pinto, and his opponent, Connie Reynoso, are competing for leadership in Barangay Princesa.

As of writing, the investigation by the Puerto Princesa City Police Office is ongoing. Additional forces, including troops from the 3rd Marine Brigade and the Philippine Coast Guard in Palawan, have been deployed.

One person has been arrested by the police for allegedly tearing the ballots, but Police Major Pearl Manyll Marzo, the head of Police Station 1, declined to disclose the suspect's identity.

"We are still looking into the whole incident. We can't provide details yet," she said.

Atty. Percival Mendoza, the Comelec election supervisor in Palawan, said the arrested individual will be immediately charged, as there is no need for an investigation since the suspect was caught in the act of seizing and tearing the ballot box.

He also mentioned that the city police should continue searching for other suspects involved in the incident.

"They should go after them. But since they still have election duties, maybe they'll do it after," Mendoza said.

Mendoza said the arrested individual will be charged for violating Section 261, Paragraph Z, Subparagraph 12 of the Omnibus Election Code.

The section outlines that anyone who, without proper authorization, disrupts, replaces or removes an election form, document or ballot box containing official ballots or other election-related materials from the custody of those with legal responsibility or from its rightful storage location is in violation and will be penalized.

"If they will be found guilty, it's minimum of six years without pardon," Mendoza stated.

While deciding whether to proceed with the voting in the two precincts or declare it a failure, another commotion ensued when Mendoza and some protesters exchanged heated words.

Tensions escalated, and the police closed the door and guarded the entrance to the polling center.

Mendoza explained that the protesters were becoming too unruly, despite his efforts to explain that the voting in the clustered precinct should continue.

"It can't be like that, and the voting can't be stopped," he said.

Ultimately, the EB members were compelled to open the ballot box to resume the election. Mendoza told them to do so because the voting needed to proceed, especially with people waiting outside.

In the end, the voting resumed before 3 in the afternoon, accommodating 74 voters from the two precincts.

Police and military troops remain in the area to secure the counting of votes.