By The SUN
 |
| The scene at Bayanihan on Wednesday, when nearly 2,000 turned out to vote |
Things continued to go smoothly in the ongoing overseas voting
for Filipinos in Hong Kong, with the turnout on Wednesday reaching 1930, a new
record for the weekday tally.
Consul General Raly Tejada gave the daily figure less than an hour after voting ended at 5pm at the Bayanihan Centre, another sign of how much quicker the voting and the tallying have become since five additional vote counting machines were installed at the polling place.
One of the day’s voters, Maria Andes Caspe, said there were two lines of people waiting to be shown to their precincts when she arrived, but they all managed to complete the process within an hour.
 |
| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
“Mabilis naman, very busy lang ang in-charge doon sa voting room (precinct) dahil nag-iisa lang siya.” (It was quick, but the one in charge of the voting room was busy because she was all alone.”), Caspe said.
She also reported of being accosted by someone as she was walking to the bus stop, “pretending to survey.” Caspe said she told the girl who she voted for as president and vice president before moving on.
With the additional VCRs that Commission on Elections finally approved, the Hong Kong post has regained the five precincts it was forced to do without on the first two days of voting, resulting in a long back-up when polls opened on Sunday.
 |
| PRESS FOR DETAILS! |
The long Easter holiday which starts tomorrow and ends Monday is likely to boost the voter turnout in the coming days, and the Consulate says it feels more confident now about facing the overflow.
Meanwhile, Unifil-Migrante Hong Kong has welcomed Comelec’s decision to double the number of VCMs assigned to Hong Kong, and said this was the result of an intense campaign by members of the Filipino community.
 |
| BAN ON FLIGHTS FROM THE PHILIPPINES LIFTED ON APRIL 1. BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS NOW! PRESS FOR DETAILS |
“The prompt outcry of the vigilant members of the Filipino migrant community drew attention to the serious setbacks on the first day of voting which resulted to this positive development in OV in HK,” said Unifil-Migrante .
 |
| Voters wait outside their assigned precincts- 10 was definitely better than 5 |
It was unfortunate that many overseas Filipino workers had to be turned away early on Sunday because of inadequate precincts and voting machines, said the group.
But this scenario was what prompted Comelec to realize that not having enough VCMs at the polling centre could result to disenfranchisement and distress to voters, said Unifil.
 |
| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
The migrants group said if only five VCMs were allotted to Hong Kong, only
about 40,000 of the more than 93,000 total registered voters in Hong Kong would
have been able to cast their ballots.
It added Bayan Muna Representative Ferdinand Gaite has urged an immediate investigation into what he called the 'chaotic and disorganized' voting in Hong Kong on the first day and the “potential disenfranchisement of thousands of voters.”
