Press Release
May 10, 2010

ROXAS APPEALS TO COMELEC TO EXTEND VOTING TO 11:59 P.M.
TELLS VOTERS TO'BE PATIENT, MAKE SURE YOUR VOTE IS CAST'

Liberal Party President and vice-presidential candidate Senator Mar Roxas today asked the Commission on Elections to extend the voting hours up to 11:59 p.m. today to accommodate as much voters as possible, as he noted with alarm reports that many polling precincts in the country are clogged with long lines of voters both young and old failing to cast their vote because of impatience and frustration exacerbated by the hot and humid weather.

Roxas urged voters to not mind the long lines, bring snacks or even gaming gadgets or go along with friends or relatives to while away the time when they troop to the polling precincts so they can vote in this first-ever but chaotic automated elections.

He said he is overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of voters in participating in these elections, but at the same time is wary of long queues and glitches in the automated elections that could dismay and turn away voters.

Reports received from the field by Roxas and the LP headquarters in Cubao, Quezon City where the Aquino-Roxas Bantay Balota poll watch group is also based, indicate many voters have been turned off by the long queues they encountered in the polling precincts because of the breakdown of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines or experienced a hard time trying to find their names in the voters' list.

Even LP standard-bearer Senator Benigno S. Aquino III was a victim of a PCOS machine failure, and reported to media he had been waiting for almost three hours to be able to vote as of 1:00 pm.

The Comelec has already extended the voting to 7 p.m. from the original closing time of 6 p.m. today.

"Voters should not suffer disenfranchisement for what is clearly not their fault. The Comelec should consider additional hours to make sure all those who want to vote will be able to," Roxas stressed.

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