176 ballots missing in Isabela, voters relocated

By Vince Jacob Visaya

NAGUILIAN, Isabela -- At least 176 missing ballots were uncovered in Barangay Rang-ayan in this town, forcing the electoral board to convene and send the unaccommodated registered voters to four nearby villages with voting that ended at past 8 p.m.
    The registered voters trooped to the nearby villages of Flores, Santo Tomas, Manaring and Aguinaldo.
Lawyer Michael Camangeg, an Isabela provincial election supervisor, said the electoral board has followed Comelec Resolution 10759, which assigns protocol in such cases of missing ballots.
    "We identified nearby villages with still available ballots and asked the unaccommodated registered voters within the 7 p.m. period in Rang-ayan to proceed to the identified nearby villages and vote there," he said.
    Camangeg said the ballots used by the villagers from other villages would also be included in the boxes of respective communities where they voted, not in Rang-ayan village.
    One of the voters, Racquel Pagaling of Rang-ayan, said she and others were forced to vote in Flores and nearby communities due to the missing ballots.
    "We were forced to vote here in Flores and nearby villages just to pick our candidates," she said.