FILIPINOS have begun exercising their right to vote for the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on October 30, and among those who cast their vote early are President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.
Marcos arrived at the Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School in Batac, Ilocos Norte, minutes after the voting began at 7 a.m. He was accompanied by his son, Ilocos Norte Representative Sandro Marcos.
The president voted for one barangay chairman and seven barangay councilors, according to Palace.
After casting his vote, Marcos also faced members of the media where he highlighted the importance of the BSKE.
“I cannot overstate the importance of the results of the barangay elections. It’s very simple, I mean, the political dynamic is very simple. Halimbawa, if you’re running for mayor, and the majority of the barangay officials are on your side are helping you, ay talagang malaking bagay ‘yon. It will make it much easier to be elected at the local level,” he said.
“But this applies all the way up to the national level, for the midterm elections for example,” he added.
The chief executive stressed that the results of the barangay elections will have an effect on the results of the midterm elections and the national elections.
“Para sa aming mga politiko, napakahalaga ang resulta ng barangay election. That’s why sa aming assessment, kung minsan, nagiging napakainit ang barangay election dahil talagang crucial ‘yan,” Marcos said.
“It is held at the very intimate, personal level. That’s why, sometimes, nagkakainitan ng husto, kaya ‘yun ang ating gustong iwasan,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Duterte voted at the Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School in Davao at around 8 a.m.
Speaking with reporters, the vice president urged Filipinos to exercise their right to vote.
She also emphasized the importance of the roles of barangay officials, whom she called “frontliners.
“Nasa communities natin sila, nasa grassroots natin sila, and napakahalaga ng kanilang pagta-trabaho para yung serbisyo ng gobyerno, lahat ng trabaho ng gobyerno ay nagpe-penetrate doon sa ating barangays and communities,” she said.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) previously said that there are a total of 92 million registered voters for the BSKE 2023, of which 68 million are regular voters and 24 million are SK voters.
Comelec chair George Garcia told TeleRadyo Serbisyo on Monday that the poll body is expecting a 70-75 percent voter turnout.
The casting of votes will end at 3 p.m. on Monday.
