The final push to win votes Bets show off full force in ‘miting de avance’ to mark end of campaign
n By JOYCE PAÑARES AND REY REQUEJO
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OUR presidential aspirants made their final push on Saturday as they held their respective mammoth miting de avance in Metro Manila and in General Santos City.
Vol. 36
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No. 82
May 8, 2022
2 SECTIONS 8 PAGES
18 .00
IN MET R MANILAO
Presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos renewed his pitch for unity – a message which analysts said has resonated well with most Filipinos, thus propping up his voters preference ranking in all pre-election polls. “We are now on the last day of the campaign period for the elections on Monday. I would like to thank all of you for believing in us,” Marcos said in his miting de avance held in Paranaque City. “Your support for UniTeam is not mere support for a candidate. It is a support for unity, a support for a better Philippines…So come Monday, I hope you think of the future of our country, and hope that you will choose us in UniTeam because we are pushing for unity,” he added. In Makati City, supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo on Saturday also made a final show of force ahead of Monday’s national elections. “Tonight, we can all proudly say: I am here. I am part of this. I am making a stand,” said Robredo, the lone woman in the presidential race. CONTINUED ON 3A
Comelec junks 1m defective election ballots
FERDINAND ‘BONGBONG’ MARCOS JR.
LENI ROBREDO
MANNY PACQUIAO
FRANCISCO ‘ISKO MORENO’ DOMAGOSO
n By VITO BARCELO NEARLY one million defective ballots were destroyed while at least 790 vote counting machines and 143 SD cards had to be repaired by the Commission on Elections two days before the May 9 national and elections day. Commissioner George Garcia, who headed the destruction of the defective ballots, said these were the ones that had smudges, wrong color, or wrong size, or were improperly cut, among other defects. The ballots were fed to the industrial cutting machines and will be disposed of after the May 9 elections. The Comelec said the total number of ballots destroyed reached 933,311, including 346,323 roadshow ballots. Meanwhile, the Philippine National CONTINUED ON 3A
PNP creates special teams vs. vote-buying n By JOEL E. ZURBANO SPECIAL teams of policemen were formed to go after individuals engaged in vote buying and vote selling in connection with tomorrow’s synchronized national and local elections. The teams — created in every city and provincial police command unit — are also tasked to investigate, gather evidence, and protect the witnesses in vote buying activities. “This is a concrete effort of the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police to support the Commission on
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Voters can get vax, booster at polling precincts—DOH THE Department of Health will set up COVID-19 vaccination booths in polling precincts nationwide on Monday. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said primary series and booster doses will be made available on election day. "We have vaccination sites in all polling precincts. Once you are done voting, if you have yet to get a booster or complete the primary series you
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can get vaccinated there," she said. Vergeire said "everything is in order" after a series of meetings with the Commission on Elections, which earlier expressed reservations on the vote-and-vax setup. "The government is ready to stage a safe election but I am appealing to everyone, the government cannot do this alone. We need to do our part to make the polls safe," Vergeire said.
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BONDING MOMENT. A mother enjoys a swing art installation at Fort Santiago in Manila on Saturday, May 7, 2022. The native swing is part of the exhibition of artist Kristine Lim titled ‘Ugoy’ to commemorate Mother’s Day today. Danny Pata