Calbayog City — Voting faced delays in two upland villages of Calbayog City, Samar after an armed attack on a soldier and board of election inspectors (BEIs) disrupted the scheduled voting process on Monday.
According to Philippines News Agency, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Eastern Visayas regional director Felicisimo Embalsado, voting began on Monday afternoon in Dinawacan village and on Tuesday morning in Nag-uma village.
Suspected members of the New People's Army (NPA) reportedly opened fire on army personnel and three public school teachers serving as BEIs in Nag-uma village around 6:30 a.m. on Monday. The incident occurred in the vicinity of Dinawacan village, but resulted in no injuries. The attack caused panic among the electoral board, forcing them to return to Dinawacan village. Those assigned to Nag-uma took shelter in Dinawacan while awaiting reinforcements, said the Comelec official to the Philippine News Agency.
The two affected villages have over 300 registered voters. Embalsado assured that the proclamation of winners would occur within the day, as additional troops were deployed to secure the two voting centers. The report reached the Comelec regional office on Tuesday due to poor mobile phone signals in the upland communities, which require a seven-hour hike to reach from a nearby access road.
Embalsado also reported that 98 percent of the region's 4,365 villages had declared their winners as of Tuesday morning. Confirmation delays in far-flung areas were mostly attributed to poor mobile phone signals, particularly in Samar provinces. Despite the incident, Embalsado stated that the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections in Eastern Visayas were generally peaceful.