Be honest, Marcos tells BSK winners; over 98 percent proclaimed

MANILA, Philippines — With almost all of the winning candidates in Monday’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) already proclaimed, President Marcos yesterday reminded them of their duty to prioritize the welfare of their constituents and to be always honest.

“This is a fresh opportunity to be of service to the Filipinos and to our nation wholeheartedly and beyond our means. Let us be honest at all times. Let us always prioritize the plight of our people because they are the reason why we want to serve the nation,” the President said in a video message.

Marcos again called for unity, saying being united is key to achieving peace and prosperity.

“Through our unity and collective efforts, we can surely push for a new Philippines, where every barangay is peaceful, happy and prosperous, where unity, understanding and development prevail and where every citizen is proud to be Filipino,” he said.

“We have witnessed a successful and peaceful barangay election and Sangguniang Kabataan election... Thank you to those who helped,” Marcos said, citing a report from Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia.

Less than 24 hours after the closing of polling precincts, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported the proclamation of almost all of the winning BSKE candidates.

Garcia said that as of 2:35 p.m. yesterday, 99.47 of the election results from more than 40,000 barangays nationwide had been canvassed.

He also noted that 97.44 percent of the winning candidates nationwide have already been proclaimed.

“We are nearly completed with our canvassing with only about one percent of votes nationwide still uncanvassed, while 2.3 percent of winners are yet to be proclaimed,” Garcia said at a press conference.

He explained that the election officers were unable to hold proclamations in some barangays because some of the candidates got equal number of votes.

In fact, in some cases –in Manila and Northern Mindanao – the Comelec had to resort to coin toss to resolve draws.

“We instructed the regional directors to proclaim the winners at all cost, hindi puwdeng patagalin at ipagpaliban (there can’t be delays and postponements),” he said.

The poll chief