MANILA: Technical glitches coupled with the usual vote buying and isolated violence in the south mar the voting of millions of Filipinos that analysts say would make or break the next three years of Duterte presidency.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) apologized for the big upsurge of complaints flooding social media of delay in voting and long queues amidst the sweltering summer, as well as reports of election rigging and bribery.
Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said 450 voting counting machines malfunctioned, and 1,000 SD cards could not be read.
Such technical problems were anticipated but the delay that it caused has strained their resources, and irate the voting public.
In fact, more than 90 percent of the voting precincts had to extend beyond 6pm to accommodate voters who have already queued hours before closing time.
Guanzon said the SD cards were their biggest headache — since it registered a 1,000 percent increase compared to 2016 national elections.
In previous elections, order for SD cards and marking pens were bundled with VCM rental. This year, Comelec sourced the materials from different suppliers.
“The supplier of SD cards is new. Sometimes the lowest-bidder rule is not practical as I suspect the SD cards submitted during the post-qualification bidding are of good quality but when the supplier started supplying SD cards, it reduced its cost because its bid is low,” Guanzon said in Filipino.
Guanzon added she would “personally object” to full payment for the suppliers and would study the contract to determine which parts in the contract can be used to exact penalties.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez also noted more than 200 percent increase in malfunctioning of VCMs, compared to 2016 elections which reported 188 cases.
One of the irate voters was former vice president Jejomar Binay whose ballot was rejected eight times by the VCM in Makati City.
“Galit ako! Galit ako! Bakit na-disenfranchise ang boto ko (I’m furious! Why was my vote disenfranchised)?” Binay told journalists as he rushed to the Comelec national board of canvassing at the Philippine International Conference Center in Pasay City.
It turned out that the VCMs in his polling precinct was defective and the vice president was given another ballot and another chance to cast his vote.
The VCM in the polling precinct of Sen. Grace Poe also malfunctioned.
In Makati City, some reportedly resorted to hitting the VCM whenever it keeps having paper jams. Election officers advised precinct officers not to shake or hit the machines with defect.
Another machine that verifies voter identification, the Voter Registration Verification Machine (VRVM), also conked out.
“Sayang pera (waste of money). Four VRVMs in Roxas High School in Quezon City did not function. Board of Elections Inspectors said machines did not recognize log-in details of BEI chair,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes Jr. tweeted.
VRVMs machines in Corazon Aquino Elementary School in Taytay, Rizal, in Cebu City and Talisay City also bogged down, forcing teachers to manually verify the registered voters’ identity.
Comelec downplays number
Despite the huge increase in the number of VCM glitches, Jimenez said “it is perhaps still small, out of 85,000. It still seems to be within the range.”
“The reason it’s so jarring is that we had fewer incidents in 2016,” he added.
Jimenez explained that the VCMs were brand new in 2016, hence fewer machines malfunctioned.
But former Comelec commissioner chided the poll body.
“These are things that should not happen anymore now. This is the 4th automated elections!” Larrazabal posted on Twitter.
Boat carrying VCM capsizes
A boat carrying a VCM and a number of passengers sunk near the Darajuay Island in Catbalogan, Samar.
The sunken boat was supposed to deliver a VCM to the villages Darajuay, Majaba, and Basiao in Catbalogan.
Captain Armand Balilo, spokesperson of the Philippine Coast Guard, said assengers of the boat, five soldiers and two Comelec personnel, were saved after the boat sunk.
The VCM submerged in water but were later recovered.
Elderly dies; fistfight erupts
Meanwhile, a senior citizen reportedly died from heat stroke after casting his vote around 11:00 a.m. in Barangay Santiago, Bauang, La Union.
Meanwhile, two poll watchers in Cotabato brawled in the middle of the elections.
In the video uploaded by GMA News reporter Cedric Castillo on Twitter, bystanders started screaming after a fistfight erupted among poll watchers of rival candidates. Three individuals sustained minor injuries because of the incident.
The identity of the poll watchers involved and the voting precinct where they were assigned were not mentioned.
