Ateneo SSRC got it right

AT LEAST in my wife's precinct, that is.

Lynn's three-person BEI signed, thumbmarked and sealed their election returns and other essential documents at around 1:30 am. An hour later, a convoy of more than 12 vehicles -- including three dump trucks -- aided by more than 25 motorcycles snaked its way back to City Hall.

The ballot boxes from Panicuason and Carolina, the city's uppermost barangays, already made their way to the city center, somebody quipped. That made Pacol Elementary one of the last, if not the last, polling centers to close shop.

But that is understandable: in the 2000 census, Pacol registered the highest population growth rate, fueled by intra-city migration. It has emerged as one of the city's vote-rich villages, behind Concepcion Pequeña.

In the absence of official quickcounts, either by the paralyzed Namfrel or the PPCRV, I can only make an educated guess, based on my wife's precinct. They largely track results of the pre-election survey conducted by the Ateneo SSRC, to wit:

• Mayor Robredo and Vice Mayor Gabby Bordado have earned another term, beating their rivals by comfortable margin that ranging between 2-1 and 3-1
• Their 10-person Team Naga slate for the Sangguniang Panlungsod will again sweep the opposition, again on comfortable margins
• But Rep. Luis Villafuerte appears to have held his own against former Rep. Sulpicio "Cho" Roco. My informants say that on the whole, Cho won Pacol but on a slim margin.
  
• Joker Arroyo (with 73% of the total votes cast in the precinct) and Bayan Muna (10%) led the senate and party-list races
• Turnout was high at 82%, a shade lower than predicted by Comelec.
  

By around noontime tomorrow, we should have a clearer idea of the various election outcomes at the city, district and provincial levels.