UniTeam senatorial candidate Loren Legarda on Monday was one of the first voters to arrive in Barangay Mag-aba in the Municipality of Pandan in this province and queued up at the express lane for seniors while waiting for her turn to be admitted at Precinct 26.
Arriving a few minutes before the 6 a.m. opening of the polling center, Legarda, 62, told the media that she was looking forward to a safe, orderly, and peaceful election.
“I am not saying goodbye to Antiqueños for I will continue to serve the province and the country,” she said in an interview before she finally entered the polling precinct.
She vowed to continue the projects that she has started while serving as congresswoman of the lone district of Antique from 2019 to 2022, which include upgrading of hospitals and assistance to indigent students.
Lilia Tambuong, 61, of Barangay Mag-aba, came with her twin sister to be among the first ones to cast their votes and joined Legarda at the seniors’ express lane.
She said that they are glad the Commission on Elections, in coordination with the Department of Education, provided express lanes for the senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWD), and heavily pregnant mothers.
“I am glad that we have been provided with mono-block chairs and that there is an express lane so that we could finish voting early,” she said.
She and her sister woke up at 3 a.m. to prepare their list of candidates.
Voters who came early to the polling centers in Antique noticed the orderly conduct of the elections.
“From the time you enter the school up to the clustered polling precinct, there was order because there were teachers or people who really guide you,” said Jonah Veñegas, a market vendor who came early to cast her vote at the Sibalom Central School in the town proper.
She also took note of the presence of health workers carrying out thermal scanning and providing alcohol as part of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) health protocol at the entrance gate of the school.
There are also isolation rooms within the school in case the voter has a high body temperature.
Health workers from the Rep. Ramon Maza Sr. Memorial District Hospital in Sibalom assigned to check the body temperature of the voters at the Sibalom Central School said voters with slightly high temperatures are asked to rest for a while or drink lots of water before they undergo another thermal scanning
Source: Philippines News Agency
