About 100 individuals, led by the League of Filipino Students, held a lightning rally at the Fountain of Justice in front of the old Bacolod City Hall on Tuesday, May 10, to slam the conduct of Monday’s polls.
RJ Ledesma, 7th nominee for Kabataan Party-list, said in a statement, said the Bacolod youth will not remain silent while democracy is being junked.
The rally participants demanded that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) be held accountable for alleged “numerous anomalies” during Election Day, a press release from the group said.
The May 9 elections were marred by nearly 2,000 vote counting machine (VCM) breakdowns, illegal campaigning and vote-buying, among other irregularities, it said.
Despite the anomalies and long, slow-moving lines at voting precincts, the Comelec did not extend voting hours, the press release said.
In Bacolod, VCMs were reported to have malfunctioned at Hervias and Handumanan, they said.
The Bacolod rally participants also called to reject the Marcos-Duterte tandem.
The youth present at the rally reminded the people of Bacolod and Negros’ hardships under the administration of Marcos Sr., including the Negros famine, disappearances, torture and killings of activists.
They expressed their concerns that a Marcos comeback would plunge the country into a greater crisis, affecting every sector from farmers to workers to students.*