Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 30) — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said 77% of registered persons deprived of liberty (PDL) voted in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on Monday.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government earlier said over 31,000 PDLs were allowed to vote in the BSKE.
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology set up special polling precincts in prisons, while some PDLs were escorted by jail officers to their respective precincts in barangays.
An hour before the polls closed at 3 p.m., the Comelec said 92% of registered PDLs from the New Bilibid Prison voted.
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Comelec Resolution No. 9371 states that PDLs who are qualified to vote in the local polls are those with formal charges and awaiting trial while confined in jail, those serving prison sentences for less than one year, or those who are convicted for rebellion or sedition.
PDLs were last allowed to vote in 2013 elections when 6,748 prisoners cast their votes. The pilot run was implemented in 2010.
