by Billie Mercado

The COMELEC vote tally revealed that Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte-Carpio remained immovable at the top spots of the presidential and vice presidential polls respectively, with Robin Padilla, Loren Legarda, and Raffy Tulfo consistent as the top three candidates in the senatorial race.

Duterte-Carpio’s spokesperson also shared that the vice presidential aspirant is eyeing the Secretary of National Defense position should she officially be elected. 

However, Marcos said in a speech later today that his running mate has already agreed to be appointed as the Secretary of the Department of Education.

Meanwhile, Dr. Willie Ong conceded from the vice-presidential elections after ranking fourth overall. 

Counting of Votes 

The first batch of Certificates of Canvass (CoC) was opened, with  San Juan being the first city to have its CoC received by the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC).

At around 10:40 A.M., the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), as the NBOC, began the manual tally of votes as results from the ballot boxes were gradually inspected.

By around 4:50 P.M., the canvassing session was suspended until 7 P.M. as the NBOC waited to receive more CoCs.

The polling body also started to release partial and official results, with COMELEC releasing the first batch of partial and official results from CoCs from Malabon City and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also reported a record-breaking voter turnout of 34.88% for overseas absentee voting, with a total of 550,000 Filipinos casting their ballots.

The DFA also announced that the transmission of votes for Filipino voters from overseas is expected to be completed within the week.

Additionally, NCR Mayors have already been proclaimed, and over 800 cities and towns have declared local victors. 

On Videos of Police Officers Tearing Ballots

The NBI was instructed to confirm the validity of widely circulating videos showing police officers destroying ballots in Cotabato City, with COMELEC personnel theorizing later in the day that only mock ballots, unused ballots, or spoiled ballots were being destroyed in the video.

PNP OIC Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. also made an additional statement regarding the videos, the officers in the video were assigned as special board of election inspectors, and were “mandated to tear up the unused blank official ballot sheets”.  

The PNP did not address the shaded ballots seen in the videos, but it has been said that the situation is being investigated by the Bangsamoro Police.

COMELEC acting Spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco assured that the incident will be “investigated thoroughly”, and that the polling body will be “very transparent”.

Special Elections

COMELEC announced that special elections would take place after failure of elections was declared in 14 barangays in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. 

Reasons for declaring failure of elections in these barangays include stolen ballots, damaged ballots, violence, and threats and intimidation. 

It has been said that the special elections will be held on May 15 or at a later date.

Marcos’ Presumptive Victory

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar also shared Malacañang’s post-Election Day message, saying, “The Filipino people have spoken, and now is the time to heal and unite as one nation and one people.” 

As such, the camp of Bongbong Marcos declared an early victory in the presidential election, as spokesperson Atty. Victor Rodriguez noted “an unassailable lead of over 16 million votes”.

Rodriguez also held a press conference, where he discussed the formation of Marcos Jr.’s transition team, and announced that the frontrunner would face the press himself “anytime soon”.

Marcos Jr. then addressed the public through a speech later in the day, where he thanked his supporters and gave an overview of his plans for his term.

Protest Rallies

Rallies protesting against the supposed landslide victory of the Marcos-Duterte tandem continued to emerge, with one taking place today in Baguio, as youths marched from the city’s post office to Malcolm Square.

However, incumbent Manila Mayor Isko Moreno ordered the strict enforcement of the ‘no permit, no rally’ policy in the country’s capital.

He also urged the public to move on with life from the elections, as Manila’s Department of Public Services consequently began clearing operations to take down election materials in the city.