VERA Files
The May 9 elections once again showed that the exercise of suffrage in the Philippines is a family affair.
By AMIEL CAGAYAN and EMMANUEL CAGAYAN MARBEL, South Cotabato – There were no assigned accessible polling places (APPs) in South Cotabato during the May 9 polls, but persons with disabilities (PWDs) who voted here said their experience was better than in previous elections. In lieu of APPs were express lanes, where PWD voters, as well […]
By LUCILLE SODIPE CEBU City – Election volunteers Krugger Tabada and Leah Recia, both persons with disabilities (PWDs), were startled by the high voter turnout in a polling place here last May 9. They were expecting some 50 PWDs to vote in the emergency accessible polling place (EAPP) here at the Mabolo Elementary School, but […]
By LUCILLE SODIPE CEBU City — Just hours away from the opening of the May 9 elections, teachers assigned at a polling place here were informed they need to instantly set up an emergency accessible polling place (EAPP). In this video, find out how they still managed to assist persons with disabilities (PWDs) exercise their […]
By VERA Files CALLING emergency accessible polling places (EAPPs) “a mere band-aid solution,” a poll watchdog has scored the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for failing to do enough to accommodate vulnerable voters. The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) said many persons with disabilities (PWDs), senior citizens, pregnant women and indigenous communities were disenfranchised because […]
By VERA FILES HALFWAY into the day of Monday’s elections, problems among voters with disabilities have been piling up from across the country. Initial reports as of noon show many persons with disabilities (PWDs) having a hard time exercising their right to vote, betraying a lack of preparation by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), despite […]
By FREDERIC LORENZO UPI, Maguindanao – Sixty-year-old Herminio Lacave will walk two kilometers to cast his vote tomorrow. Born with a smaller left leg, Lacave calls on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to make it easy for persons with disabilities (PWDs) to vote. “Bilang isang PWD, nanawagan ako sa Comelec na bigyan kami ng isang […]
ON May 9, persons with disabilities (PWDs), senior citizens and heavily pregnant women may choose to vote in emergency accessible polling places (EAPPs) in case their precinct is located on the higher floors of voting centers. EAPPs are makeshift tents located at the ground floor of multi-level voting centers, intended to make the voting process easier […]
By MARIA FEONA IMPERIAL THE Commission on Elections has unveiled a new plan to make voting more accessible for persons with disabilities (PWDs) and senior citizens: emergency accessible polling places (EAPPs) in the form of makeshift tents. This after the poll body has canceled voting in malls due to practical and legal restrictions. (See Disability […]
By VERLIE Q. RETULIN FIRST it was mall voting. Now it’s voter verification through headphones for people who have trouble seeing that won’t see the light of day on May 9. The Commission on Elections confirmed Thursday, four days before the election, that the headphones connected to vote-counting machines (VCM) will no longer be used by […]