after about 30 minutes of land travel, we got to the school where our precincts were assigned.
this is one of the buldings where they set up one PCOS machine/classroom.
this was my assigned classroom. we got to the end of the line at around 10am.
it's 1pm. we got to a meter away from the door. yes, no line. just people blocking the door and trying to get in.
despite pleas from the teachers who were assisting to organize the process, people wouldn't budge. some were already there as early as 7am. galit na, sobrang init kasi. di pa sila kumakain. they were shouting out already, they wanted to get it done and over with. some had children waiting for them at home.
it took a lot of pakiusap to let anyone in and out the door. the senior citizens ang pregnant women were let in but after a while people were already complaining and not budging. sa sobrang sikip, yung buntis di halos makapasok/makalabas. muntik nang magkapalitan ng mga mukha. i was so scared because the pack was so tight i could barely breathe!!!
finally, my husband (who was able to get in and out of the classroom, trying to organize things but to no avail), pulled me in from inside. you see, everyone in our group was already inside and people wouldn't budge to let me in. i was so glad i could take long breaths of air inside the classroom!
so this is what a PCOS machine looked like.
the set up. ang dami pang ballots! (at about past 3pm, i was voter number 285 per the PCOS machine.)
it took me less than 5 minutes to finish shading the bilogs na hugis itlog. queueing inside the classroom (they need to verify that you are no flying voter, of course) up to the part where you sign your name, affix your right thumbmark and get your "dirty finger" took another 10 or so minutes. this verification/searching-for-your-name-in-the-numerous-lists-where-the-heck-is-your-name-i-still-can't-find-it part was too slow. all voters should be able to tell the BEIs which precinct they are assigned to and their number in the list (all voters are listed in the alphabetical order, so i was number 2) to facilitate the efficient voting process. in this case, the BEIs had to go through the several lists to find a voter's name each and every single time ayayay!
honestly, i could have walked away when the word stampede started coming to mind. the unbearable heat, the rowdy crowd, not to mention the sweaty-body-to body-contact was just too much. but i persevered. one, my father-in-law was running for a local post in the same district. two, GIBO is my presidentiable. and three, i wanted to experience how this all works out!
after we all squeezed ourselves out the door and in between the crowd, we were free. this was the scene at around 3:30 pm. sana naman nakapagboto ang lahat ng nagtiis at nag-antay.
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