Community pantry organizer Ana Patricia Non encouraged her followers to donate food and drinks to poll watchers in precincts.
Poll watchers, volunteers from poll watch dogs and others from supporters of candidates, continue to monitor the canvassing of votes at the polling centers.
Non made the call for donations on her Facebook page in the evening of Election Day, May 9.
She also tagged the official accounts of Community Pantry PH, the go-to hub for all queries involving the volunteer-driven movement, and Maginhawa Community Pantry, the pioneer and the distribution hub for all pantries in Quezon City.
“Magandang gabi po, ine-ecourage ko po ang lahat ng may kakayahan na magpadala ng ready to eat meals/snacks para sa polling centers na mahaba ang pila at may aberya sa VCM,” she said.
“Para din po ito sa ating mga poll watchers,” she added.
Reports on faulty vote-counting machines, long lines in some voting precincts and distribution of sample ballots were raised to the Commission on Elections from the start of the elections at 6 a.m. until the closing period at 7 p.m.
Voters who were caught up in malfunctioning VCMs were asked to either wait for the machines to work again or leave their accomplished ballots to be processed by volunteer teachers later.
While some chose to leave their ballots in the precincts, others decided to hold their ballots and wait it out until they can cast their votes to the VCMs themselves.
Voters who decided on staying until the machines get fixed waited for hours in the precincts, along with the poll watchers and the electoral officers.
READ: ‘Willing to wait’: Voters hold on to their ballots until faulty VCMs get fixed
Poll watchers also faced the rampant distribution of sample ballots to voters in some localities.
Sought for comment, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting area lead Limuel Lopez told Philstar.com that their volunteer poll watchers grew concerned with the countless sample ballots they saw around the Pinyahan Elementary School precinct in Quezon City.
The PPCRV, a long-time election watchdog, previously announced that around 500,000 people volunteered to be poll watchers for the organization for this 2022 local and national elections.
Political candidates are also entitled to have their own poll watchers as stated under Section 178 of the Omnibus Election Code.
“Every registered political party, coalition of political parties and every independent candidate shall each be entitled to one watcher in every polling place,” the provision reads.
