1. VERY IMPORTANT: Bring a valid I.D. with your photo and signature. The woman in front of me did not have an I.D. Luckily, her husband had an I.D. to prove his identity, and a photo in his wallet proving that they were husband and wife. If her husband had not been there to vouch for her, she would not have been allowed to vote.
2. Prepare to wait in line. Maybe you’ll be lucky but it’s best to come prepared. Bring an umbrella, water or Gatorade and a book to read.
3. Bring your sample ballot or your voting “kodigo.” Each voter will get only ONE ballot. You won’t get a second chance if you make a mistake in shading the bilog na hugis itlog. Read the names of candidates very carefully before shading anything. Be sure not to over vote!
4. You will find “poll watchers” from various political parties distributing “sample ballots.” In my village alone, Nacionalista Party and Liberal Party volunteers were distributing sample ballots with pre-shaded circles of candidates. Do not accept anything from them! I took one sheet of paper earlier thinking it was an empty sample ballot but when I saw that it was shaded, I ripped it up on the spot! I complained about them to the police but they didn’t do anything. >_< Sabi ng pulis okay lang daw, even after I said that the campaign period ended last Saturday and the sample ballots were campaign materials because they said, "Ito ang iboto sa May 10." Then they ignored me. Whatever. Fools.
And note, the Liberal Party campaign table was right beside the police desk and in direct view of the soldier who was supposed to guard the poll.
5. Senior citizens and pregnant women are prioritized. If you're with either type, be vigilant. The poll volunteer should call out for senior citizens every now and then.
6. When you receive your ballot, be sure to check each category on the front and back pages. Make sure that your ballot is clean. Earlier, it was reported that a voter had received a ballot where the Congressman slot was shaded. (The name of Congressman whose bilog na hugis itlog was shaded was Mat Defensor.) If you see any markings or scratches on the ballot, go to the BEI right away. For some reason, the voter who received the curious ballot with Defensor's name shaded in only complained after she fed the ballot into the PCOS machine. 
7. Use the marker provided by the poll volunteer. Do not use other markers! And yes, the ink bleeds onto the back page. I hope this doesn't cause any problems.
8. Do not make any unnecessary marks. Avoid folding or crumpling the ballot.
9. After voting, feed the ballot to the PCOS machine. WAIT for the screen to flash "Congratulations! Your vote has been counted" along with the number of votes that have been counted, before you get your finger wet with indelible ink.
Good luck and stay safe! And vote wisely, citizen.
spunk and soul 