In the 30 minutes it took visually impaired Elmer (not his real name) to cast his ballot, his wife was still looking for her precinct number in the same school.
“Mabilis naman ako natapos, pero hinahanap pa [ng asawa ko] kung saan siya boboto (I finished quickly but my wife is still looking for her precinct),” the 70-year-old said.
At 5:45 a.m., nearly an hour into the opening of the early voting hours for priority sectors, President Corazon C. Aquino Elementary School in Brgy. Batasan Hills, Quezon City was already packed with voters young and old.
At as early as 6am, voters crowd around the list of precinct assignments at President Corazon C. Aquino Elementary School in Quezon City. PHOTO: Kiara Gorrospe
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) first announced on May 12, 2024 that it would open a window from 5:00 to 7:00 am specifically for senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and “heavily pregnant women” for the 2025 midterm elections.
This was to ensure a convenient and less physically demanding voting process for these sectors, according to Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia.
Despite these accommodations, senior citizens still felt inconvenienced.
Cristina (not her real name), 67, arrived at 5am and already knew where to go. At 40 minutes, she had a much faster election experience compared to previous years. But what took up most of her time was going up four flights of stairs.
“Sumakit ‘yung paa ko kasi fourth floor po ako, eh. Ang sakit ng paa ko, matanda na kasi ako,” she said.
(My feet were hurting because I had to go up to the fourth floor. My feet hurt because I’m old.)
Republic Act No. 10633 requires the establishment of accessible polling places exclusively for senior citizens and PWDs. The law requires this precinct to be located at the ground floor of the building where voting shall be held.
“Hindi ko maintindihan ‘yung nasa board (I couldn’t understand what was posted on the board),” said another senior citizen voter. He was talking about deciphering the map of precincts in the school, which also took up most of his otherwise short voting process.
Though seemingly minor inconveniences for some senior citizens, a life was also lost amid strenuous circumstances.
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), one of the largest election watchdogs in the country, said they received a report of a senior citizen in Metro Manila who passed away from heat stroke while lined up at 7am, which was when the early voting period ended.
Garcia told reporters in Cavite this morning that the early voting was meant to be a separate day or week for priority sectors to cast their ballots, similar to local absentee voting for media, police, army and Comelec staff who would be on duty on election day.
“Sana nga mapag-isipan na ng ating Kongreso, with all due respect, na ‘yung aming ipino-propose noon pa na ang early voting, hindi oras. Ang early voting, araw,” he said.
(I hope our Congress would consider, with all due respect, what we proposed before for early voting not just to be a separate time but a separate day.)
