ILOILO City – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Western Visayas hailed the early voting initiative and first-ever mall polling centers during the May 12 midterm elections as a success, citing strong turnout and positive feedback, especially from the vulnerable sector.
Comelec Region 6 director Atty. Dennis Ausan reported that approximately 261,000 voters from the vulnerable sector — senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and pregnant women — across Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique, and Guimaras took advantage of the special early voting window between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m.
“We were surprised and pleased with the turnout. The early voting for the vulnerable sector was more successful than we anticipated,” Ausan said. “There was wide acceptance and good reception from both voters and stakeholders.”
In addition to early voting, Ausan also highlighted the pilot implementation of mall voting in Iloilo City and Roxas City as another success story in this year’s elections. The initiative was aimed at providing a more accessible and comfortable voting experience, while helping decongest traditional school-based precincts.
“The feedback from our registered voters assigned to malls was overwhelmingly positive,” Ausan added.
A total of 8,249 registered voters from nine barangays cast their ballots at four Iloilo City malls — SM City Iloilo, Robinsons Place Iloilo, Robinsons Place Jaro, and Festive Walk Mall — and one mall in Roxas City.
The designated barangays per mall were as follows:
* SM City Iloilo – Barangay Buhang Taft North, Mandurriao
* Robinsons Place Iloilo (City Proper) – Barangays Roxas Village, Magsaysay, Kauswagan, Osmeña, and San Jose
* Robinsons Place Jaro – Barangay San Vicente, Jaro
* Festive Walk Mall – Barangay Airport, Mandurriao
* Robinsons Place Roxas – Barangay Poblacion X, Roxas City
Iloilo City Election Officer IV Atty. Pinky Jevini Tentativa emphasized that only voters from approved barangays were allowed to vote in mall-based precincts.
“All registered voters from these barangays were instructed to go to the mall designated as their official voting center,” Tentativa explained.
Orderly and Peaceful
Ausan also declared the overall conduct of the elections in Western Visayas as smooth and orderly, with no untoward incidents recorded across the region.
“Our elections were peaceful and efficiently conducted. We were able to maintain order and deliver a comfortable voting experience,” he said.
While 14 towns in Iloilo province — including Iloilo City — reported malfunctioning automated counting machines (ACMs), Ausan said the issues were quickly addressed, thanks to the newly established technical hubs in each province.
In Iloilo, the hub was located at the second floor of Angeles Arcade Building, Mabini Street, Barangay Osmeña, Iloilo City. This localized setup helped expedite technical troubleshooting, unlike in previous elections when the hub was based in Cebu City, causing delays in machine repairs.
The prompt response was made possible by the coordination of Comelec, Miro Systems (the ACM provider), the Department of Science and Technology, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology./PN
