Amid the start of the early voting hours at Nagpayong Elementary School in Pasig City, most senior citizens and persons with disability (PWDs) had to face long queues due to the influx of voters.
On Monday, May 12, RH 52 Edniel Parrosa reported that the largest number of voters came from the said area. This was based on the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) data, indicating that 47,249 registered voters are expected to crowd the elementary school come election day.
The voters, both the priority and regular sectors, flocked to the area before 5 AM. According to the report, there are designated polling places for senior citizens, PWDs, and pregnant women. Despite this, long queues were still seen at the location.
Parrosa pointed out that despite the large area, there are only one or two rooms assigned for the priority sectors. One of the is used as a holding area for the said sector. Meanwhile, the other room is utilized for voting, but is also crowded.
Some residents who arrived early were forced to find the regular polling centers. According to the report, the voters who chose to find the regular polling centers had to climb up the stairs.
“Kanina pa kami natapos dito [sa holding area]. Gusto ko pa mangyari [na malaman] kung saan kami pupunta, para makaboto na kami at nang makatapos na,” a voter said in an interview.
“Kanina kami dito, 4 AM kami [dumating],” she added.
Another voter said she opted to climb up the stairs, specifically the third floor, to vote, instead of waiting for the long lines. Some residents had already been waiting for about two hours at the time of reporting.
#Desisyon2025: Mga botante, patuloy ang pagdagsa sa Nagpayong ES sa Pasig—ang pinakamalaking voting area sa bansa na may 47,249 registered voters, batay sa COMELEC | RH 52 @ednielparrosa, DZRH News pic.twitter.com/1VV3xLYPxv
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) May 11, 2025
According to the report, the priority sector is asked to enter the holding area before they are transferred to the voting room. Once they enter the latter, they fill up their forms and hand them out to the staff. There are no vote-counting machines in the room, and votes are conducted similarly to the absentee voting system, where ballots are sealed in an envelope.
After the voting period, the election officers would travel to the designated or regional precincts and insert the ballots into the machine. The report noted that there will be watchers in the area while this is being conducted.
The report also mentioned that there are not enough volunteers and staff to assist all the voters in the area. There are also no maps or direction guides for voters to know which precinct they should go to.
