2.6k votes cast on 9th day of overseas voting for Filipinos in HK

 By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Today's early morning crowd inside Bayanihan Centre (from Congen Raly Tejada's FB post)

Despite being hampered by some glitches, overseas voting for the 2022 presidential election in the Philippines was generally smooth today at the Bayanihan Centre in Kennedy Town.

According to Consul General Raly Tejada, the day’s turnout was about 2,600 – which was half of Sunday’s tally, but still sizeable considering that Easter Monday is a general, and not a statutory holiday, when foreign domestic workers are entitled to take the day off.

Overall, a rough estimate of the cumulative total from nine days of overseas voting is now nearly 24,000. No exact figure could be drawn because the Commission on Elections has prohibited overseas posts from supplying actual daily tally to the public.

Photos shared by Congen Tejada on his Facebook account showed a queue had formed outside Bayanihan at about 9:45am, although he said it was short and there was a steady stream of voters arriving at the polling venue.

Some of the day’s voters posted on Facebook that voting went on smoothly, with each of them spending only an average of 30 minutes to queue up and cast their ballots.

But two precincts on the sixth floor remained closed today, after their vote-counting machines broke down yesterday.

One voter said those assigned to the two precincts had to be diverted to others on the lower floors so they could cast their ballots. But one poll watcher said the machine had started acting up as early as Friday.

Acknowledging the machine breakdown, Congen Tejada said yesterday that they were being fixed, and that the Commission on Elections in the Philippines had assured him that new machines will be sent to Hong Kong by tomorrow, Wednesday.

Having all 10 precincts open could greatly reduce the waiting time of voters (CG Tejada's photo)

It was only a week ago that the Comelec allowed the Consulate to restore Hong Kong’s 10 precincts after reducing them earlier to just five.

As a result, thousands of voters had to be turned away on the first day of voting on Apr 10 after police were spooked by the throng that descended on Bayanihan, hoping to be among the first to cast their ballots.

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Poll watchers also reported some odd events that happened during the day, like when a ballot that bore a serial number different from those assigned to the cluster it came from was repeatedly rejected by the VCM.

“Nahalo daw,” (It had been mixed in) said the watcher, referring to the explanation given by the special board of election inspectors (SBEIs) at the precinct.

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But the board members took note of the problem and asked the poll watchers to witness them canceling the spoiled ballot and issuing a new one to the voter.

The VCM also rejected some ballots initially, but all got through eventually.

The queue outside Bayanihan at about 9:45am

Other than this, the poll watchers said they managed to report voters who were taking selfies inside the precincts, or wearing shirts that bore the names or logos of their preferred candidate.

Poll officers have repeatedly advised people not to go to Bayanihan displaying campaign materials or wearing shirts that identify their chosen candidates. But they can vote in whatever color of clothing they prefer.

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One voter caused a commotion in one of the precincts on the fifth floor after he angrily proclaimed that the receipt he got after he cast his ballot did not accurately reflect his votes.

The voter claimed his receipt showed he did not vote for a vice-president and party-list and chose only six senators, when he supposedly chose a complete set of candidates.

But when the SBEI chair asked the voter if he wanted to file a complaint he said no. He also could not answer immediately whose names were not shown on his ballot receipt, so the observer said it looked like the voter was just trying to create a scene.

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Another complaint pertained to an elderly Filipina who loudly proclaimed to everyone on the bus she took going home from Bayanihan that she was a volunteer but was a rabid supporter of a presidential candidate.

Throughout the bus journey, she narrated events that supposedly happened inside Bayanihan, like when a vote supposedly cast in her candidate’s favor was not reflected in the ballot receipt, suggesting that cheating was going on. Despite this, she predicted a landslide win for her candidate.

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Consul Bob Quintin, who heads the electoral process in Hong Kong, has promised to look into the complaint and take action if necessary.

Imported Covid infection detected 12 days after arrival as cases drop to 613

By The SUN 

Dr Au of CHP and Dr Ho of HA report on the latest Covid-19 situation

Hong Kong has recorded 613 new Covid-19 cases Monday, the fourth straight day that the infection figure has dropped to below 1,000.

The new cases included 316 detected by PCR tests, and 297 were reported by people who did rapid antigen tests on their own.

Among them were 13 imported cases, including one picked up at a community testing centre 12 days after the patient’s arrival in Hong Kong.

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Dr Albert Au of the Centre for Health Protection said it’s believed that the infection of the 10-year-old patient is a re-positive case as she had a low viral load and her family members all tested negative for the virus.

He declined a suggestion during the press conference that the seven-day hotel quarantine for all incoming travellers be extended anew to 14 days, saying he believes the current regulation is safe as most of imported cases are detected shortly after arrival.

Au also announced that all Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul will be suspended for a week or until Apr 24, after four passengers on the flight yesterday tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival.

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He said a similar suspension will be imposed on the Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur as one of its passengers tested positive on arrival while three did not comply with pre-boarding requirements.

Meanwhile, Dr Sara Ho of the Hospital Authority reported that 20 more patients with Covid had died, including 17 who passed away in public hospitals in the past 24 hours.

So far, 1.18 infections and 8,946 deaths have been recorded in the fifth wave of the pandemic.

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Earlier, government health adviser Ivan Hung has said the daily caseload may continue to drop until it reaches double digits, but it is not likely a zero infection rate will be achieved.

The Hong Kong University expert said there could be a slight rise in the number of infections after the Easter holiday, but the downward trend will continue.

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He called on all those eligible, particularly the elderly and children, to get a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible, saying a high vaccination rate will benefit everyone in the community.

Hung also said that around three percent of patients  from the fifth wave will suffer from long Covid, which is much lower than the average overseas ratio of 10 to 20 percent.

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Long Covid means patients will continue to experience symptoms weeks or months after recovery.

He said this was because local patients are sent to hospitals at the early stage of infection.

Record-high ‘5k plus’ turnout on second Sunday of overseas voting in HK

By Daisy CL Mandap

It took most voters around six hours of queuing to get to the gates of the Bayanihan polling centre

More than 5,000 Filipinos who queued up an average of six hours managed to cast their ballots at the Bayanihan Centre in Kennedy Town on Sunday, Apr 17, on the second Sunday of the overseas voting in Hong Kong.

This was according to Consul General Raly Tejada, who has been constrained by what he said was a new resolution by the Commission on Elections prohibiting overseas posts from providing the exact daily turnout figure.

The total tally far exceeds the record for the 2022 election set last Friday, when Congen Tejada said more than 3,400 people cast their ballots. On Saturday, the turnout was “almost 3,000”.

Given all these figures, the total turnout for the past eight days of voting is now at least 21,292.

Staff and volunteers try to let in as many people as possible inside Bayanihan

At this rate, and given that there are three more Sundays to go plus a statutory holiday on May 1, the final turnout could easily exceed the 45,561 votes cast - or 49% of the registered voters - posted in the 2016 presidential election.

However, the all-time record turnout remains the 66,500 votes cast in the first overseas voting in 2004, when manual voting was still in force. The figure represented 75% of the 89,000 registered voters that year.

Voters lined up to as far as 3 kilometres away

Sunday’s record tally was reached despite an advisory from the Consulate by midday for people to consider going back in the afternoon to queue because the line had by then extended to Mount Davis Path, which is about 3 km away.

The appeal set off a buzz that the queuing was being stopped again at the police request. Not a few people who were about to set off towards the tail-end of the line had second thoughts about continuing.

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But this was immediately disproved by Congen Tejada in a text message.

“It’s not true. I talked to them,” he said. “Nakiusap lang tayo for them to come back na lang sana mamayang hapon.” (We just appealed to them to come back, if possible, later in the afternoon).

The previous Sunday, the police asked Congen Tejada to cut off the queue less than four hours after the polls opened, saying they could no longer control the crowd. Despite this, the turnout was a remarkable 3,285.

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Another reason for the request was because one of the vote counting machines being used in precinct 9 had broken down, forcing many of the voters there to wait even longer than usual to cast their ballots.

As a stop-gap measure, Consul Bob Quintin who is deputized by Comelec to oversee the voting in Hong Kong, had to escort the voters in batches of five to different precincts so they could fill in the ballots there and feed them into the designated VCM.

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Congen Tejada assured that the machine was being fixed, and that Comelec had assured them that additional VCMs would be sent by Wednesday.

“Hopefully they would arrive soon so we can replace the VCM that malfunctioned,” he said.

The crush inside Precinct 9, where the vote counting machine conked out

Despite the seemingly endless queue and the hiccup with the VCM, the voting went on smoothly, with only one voter being led away from her precinct after apparently feeling faint from having stood for a long time and passing up on lunch.

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One Filipina who stood by precinct no 9 at about 3:30pm said she had queued up as early at 9:30am, and managed to last only because she had brought some “suman” (sticky rice) which she munched on along the way.

Others said they were more tired than hungry, and wished they could at least sit down when they got to Bayanihan.

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By around 4:45pm, the line outside the polling centre had disappeared as if by magic. Three wise voters took this as an opportunity to get to the gates before the official closing time without having to queue. They managed to get through.

Voter search desks closed shortly after 5pm 

Then, at exactly 5pm, volunteer Marites Nuval, president of Global Alliance, pushed the iron gate close, signaling the end of another day of voting.

The overseas voting for all Filipinos abroad has been set from Apr 10 to May 9. In the Philippines, some 67 million registered voters will get to cast their votes nationwide only on that final day.

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While voters in the Philippines get to elect both national and local officials, overseas electors can only vote for a president, vice-president, 12 senators and one partylist.

Daily Covid-19 tally drops to 747 as CTN issued on 40 places across HK

By The SUN 

More people have been out and about over the Easter break

Hong Kong’s confirmed Covid-19 cases dropped to 747 on Sunday, the third consecutive day that the infection rate has fallen to below 1,000.

However, compulsory testing notices were issued on 40   different residential buildings across Hong Kong at the same time.

Anyone who has visited any of these premises and stayed there for the length of time and on the dates specified must get a nucleic acid test for Covid-19.

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The buildings are located in Sha Tin, Tai Po, Tin Shui Wai, Tuen Mun, Tsz Wan Shan, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon Bay, Sheung Shui, Yau Tong, Tsuen Wan, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon City, Shek Kip Mei, Ngau Chi Wan, Sham Shui Po, Cha Kwo Ling, North Point, Chai Wan, Yuen Long, So Kwun Wat, Ma On Shan and Kwai Chung.

The details can be found here: www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/ctn_20220417.pdf

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said at today’s press briefing that the government expects a rebound in cases after the 4-day Easter holiday which ends Monday.

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But she did not mention any steps that will be taken if the number of infections reaches a certain level.

The strictest anti-pandemic restrictions ever imposed by authorities are set to be relaxed in phases starting on Apr 21.

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Of the latest cases, 446 were confirmed through PCR tests while the remaining 301 were reported by people who self-tested using rapid antigen tests.

Eleven of the cases were imported, including three who flew in aboard an Air India flight from New Delhi and Kolkata, India, on Apr 16, and tested positive on arrival.

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Because of this, the said flight will be suspended from flying into Hong Kong for one week, or from Apr 18 to 24.

Hospital Authority’s Dr Larry Lee also reported 29 new Covid-related deaths, including 24 that happened on Saturday.

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They took the death toll from the fifth wave of infections to more than 8,900.

Lee said health and education officials have made preparations in case of an outbreak of cases when face-to-face classes resume after the holiday.

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Hospitals have been told to be on standby in case of an increase in pediatric patients, while authorities have committed to provide better support for families that need to be admitted at community treatment facilities.

Lee also said that the 23 designated Covid clinics across the city are ready to cater to more patients should the need arises.

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Law enforcers descend on country parks, restaurants to enforce anti-Covid rules

By The SUN

 

Camping in country parks is still prohibited

Law enforcers have descended on four country parks and issued fixed penalty tickets costing $5,000 each on three campers found not to be wearing masks, while 49 others will be prosecuted for suspected illegal camping or use of fire at the campsites.

The police and agents of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department conducted the sweep at Sai Kung Country Park, Plover Cove (Extension) Country Park, Pat Sin Leng Country Park and Tung Lung Fort Special Area on Friday and Saturday, both general holidays.

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The arrests were made in line with current regulations prohibiting anyone from camping or doing barbecuing in country parks, or enter areas that have been cordoned off to prevent group gatherings. In addition, no more than two people are allowed to get together in public.

Police tell hikers that certain public parks remain off-limits

Separately, police and agents of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department conducted surprise checks on 54 eateries and seven other premises on Friday as part of enforcement of anti-Covid regulations. On its own, the FEHD checked on 417 restaurants and 160 other premises.

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As a result, operators of 10 catering premises will be prosecuted on suspicion of violating anti-pandemic requirements. Of these operators, (1)  three were found not to have required customers to scan the LeaveHomeSafe app, (2)  two did not ensure everyone in their premises was wearing a mask unless eating or drinking; (3)  two failed to seat a maximum of two customers to a table; (4)  one failed to install partitions between tables; (5)  one did not have a fully functioning air purifier and (6) one did not comply with the vaccination requirement for staff.

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Operators of catering establishments that fail to meet the requirements under anti-Covid regulations or the Vaccine Pass scheme are liable to pay a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment of up to six months.

In addition, the identified premises are prohibited from selling food and drinks for consumption in their premises from 3pm to 4.59am of the subsequent day, ranging from three, seven to 14 days.

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Three people were also issued the $5,000 fixed penalty tickets- two customers who did not scan the LeaveHomeSafe app and one staff who breached the vaccination requirement.

The government reminded customers to also observe the maximum limit of persons that can sit at each table, and those who do not wear a mask when they are not eating or drinking at a table or elsewhere within the premises. Offenders are subject to a maximum fine of $10,000 but they may discharge liability by paying a fixed penalty of $5,000.

FDHs in Central are reminded about the gathering and mask-wearing regulations 

Apart from the enforcement actions, the FEHD also conducted joint information drive with several government departments at public places including those frequented by foreign domestic helpers. The enforcers handed out leaflets appealing to the public to comply with various pandemic-related restrictions.

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The places targeted were in Central and Western, Eastern, Yau Tsim Mong, Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po, Sha Tin, Sai Kung and Tsuen Wan districts, near popular FDHs hangouts during public holidays.

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The FEHD also arranged to get the public areas cleaned thoroughly and stepped up patrols to stop unlicensed hawking activities. During the operation, four fixed penalty notices were issued to persons who breached public cleanliness offences and articles abandoned by one hawker were seized.

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