Amid brownouts in Mindanao
Bongbong Marcos calls for vigilance to ensure integrity
and credibility of May 9 elections

Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr. has urged every Filipino citizen to be vigilant to prevent any form of cheating in the coming elections.

Marcos made the call during his Unity Caravan in Mindanao, particularly in South and North Cotabato, where he was told of rampant brownouts in various areas. He said the situation may enable unscrupulous politicians to manipulate the elections to frustrate the will of the voters.

"Of course we are closely monitoring the developments in the electoral process, particularly on the possibility such a scenario could occur," said Marcos in a press briefing in Kidapawan City. "I think the best thing every one of us can do is to be vigilant to protect the integrity of the elections," he added.

Marcos had earlier expressed alarm over the series of bombings of transmission towers in Mindanao as it had led to brownouts in many areas. Since last year, 18 transmission towers have been bombed by still unidentified individuals. Just last month, two transmission towers in Ilocos Norte were also attacked.

The senator had called for a more resolute action from the government including law enforcement agencies to stop the bombings and arrest those behind the attacks.

For this purpose, Marcos said in going around the country, he is not only campaigning but organizing his supporters too to monitor closely the electoral process and thwart any attempts at cheating.

Marcos also said the recent Supreme Court ruling, which ordered the Comelec to activate the Voter Verification Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) features in the vote counting machines will help in the efforts to ensure clean and honest elections.

Earlier, he urged the Commission on Election to immediately attend to the task of complying with the SC ruling even if it is contrary to the position taken by the poll body, given the limited time available before the elections.

The Comelec is reportedly mulling to appeal the SC ruling.

"We must all insist that the Comelec should implement all the safeguards to the automated election as mandated by the law so that when all the votes are tallied, our citizens are confident that the results accurately reflect the will of the people," Marcos said.