Philippine government satisfied with conduct of midterm polls

The Philippine government expressed satisfaction on Tuesday over the conduct of the 2013 midterm elections despite some hitches and violent incidents that marred Monday's exercise. Philippine presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda lauded, in a news briefing, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and its agencies for cooperating each other in ensuring free, fair and credible elections. "By all accounts, this second automated election has proceeded in a satisfactory manner, with the system and the vast majority of machines working as they were intended," he said. "Our institutions--from the Comelec to its deputized agencies-- volunteers for poll-watching, media, and the public came together and did their utmost to ensure free, fair, and credible election," despite some isolated incidents of violence and hitches in the voting process, Lacierda said. As the counting of the tickets was nearly completed, the Comelec was targeting to proclaim the 12 winning senators Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. local time, 48 hours since polling precincts closed on Monday.