As early as four at the crack of dawn, I speedily got a ride in Balibago, Santa Rosa bound for Lucena City to catch up with the voting hours in a precinct in Lopez, Quezon.
Predictably, I was able to cast my votes at noon time.
In the evening, after dinner, with a press ID and a Comelec press accreditation card dangling on my neck, I leisurely walked to the Lopez town plaza where the counting and canvassing of votes were being done.
As I approached the steel bars as entrance gates of the venue being guarded by the local police, I was asked by one of the policemen about my business there. I told him I was assigned to cover the event as a member of the media and showed my IDs.
He wouldn't allow me in his harsh voice so I insisted that I was officially accredited by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to cover the exercise.
Still, he wouldn't allow me and ordered that I stay outside but I held my ground as he obviously approached his superiors when the Chief of Police whom I would learn later as PLTCOL Dandy Aguilar who came near me.
Aguilar was also adamant to let me in so I insisted about the essence of my presence.
He said in a way that he was just obeying protocols.
I suggested that he tell the local Comelec that I was there to cover the elections.
Aguilar also ordered me, despite my IDs, to stay outside but still I held my ground.
When the Police Chief came back, he was with a certain Angelo Arandela who identified himself as the municipal Comelec chair.
Arandela insisted that I should have an authorization to cover the event which I countered with the Comelec press accreditation card on my chest which made him think judiciously.
To make the long story short, I was allowed to enter with Arandela leading and offering me food and drinks which I courteously declined.
Instead, I went up to the LGU offices and talked with Malyn Eudela Saavedra, local Comelec staff.
Later, Arandela invited me to the initial canvassing which showed a prevailing trend of winning and losing candidates.
One of the aspirants, April Calvario Villasanta, a popular zumba instructor, was showing a big chance of winning a council seat but the remaining results of the tally showed her debacle.
In our Villasanta Clan Re-united chat group, April vented her thoughts: “Di man po, tau pinalad, patas naman taung lumaban. No To Vote Buying. At di rin tau pinalad na dalhin ng INC. Kaya masaya nkong may 13k na nagtiwala sa akin sa Unang laban (Although we didn’t make it, I fought a square fight. I wasn’t endorsed by INC. I am happy with the trust I got in my first attempt).”
Meanwhile, before I left the plaza, I shook hands with PLTCOL Aguilar and one of his fellows.
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