Multiple incidents of malfunctioning vote-counting machines (VCMs) in the Philippines’ ongoing midterm elections have been reported from all over the country.
In an interview with news cable channel ANC, Commission on Elections (COMELEC) spokesperson James Jimenez said that 400 to 600 machines have malfunctioned and had to be replaced by the COMELEC as of around 2pm today. However, he assured the public that the COMELEC has 10,000 VCMs on stand by which could be used as replacements.
Many bore the brunt of the malfunctioning VCMs, including former vice president Jejomar Binay whose ballot was rejected by the machine eight times when he voted in Makati City this morning. He was eventually able to vote after the COMELEC replaced the VCM in his precinct and was given a new ballot that was fed into the new machine, reported ABS-CBN News.
Senator Grace Poe, who is running for re-election this year, arrived at Sta Lucia Elementary School in San Juan City this morning but decided to go home when she couldn’t vote because the VCM in her precinct had to be repaired. She went back in the afternoon after it was fixed. Senator Nancy Binay, who’s also running for re-election, also encountered a defective VCM in her precinct in Makati.
Pasig City mayoral candidate and current Councilor Vico Sotto also had to wait for five hours before he could vote due to a defective VCM. In an interview with ANC, Sotto said that he received reports that at least 35 VCMs were not working in Pasig.
Amidst all the malfunctioning VCMs, Jimenez reminded that public school teachers — who are responsible for counting the votes — are forbidden from manually counting them even thought VCMs are not working, reported GMA News.
“We should wait for the replacement [of the malfunctioning VCM]. We will not go back to manual counting. Please wait for the machine to be replaced…. If there’s a delay in replacing the VCM, typically voting will be suspended,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English.
As of writing, other places which had defective VCMs are Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao; Mohammad Tulawie Central School in Jolo, Sulu; Malabon City National High School in Manila; Precinct IIIA in the village of Balabag in Kidapawan City; and precincts in Marawi City.
The COMELEC deployed 85,000 VCMs in this year’s elections, less than the 92,000 machines which were used in the 2016 presidential elections. There are fewer machines being used now because one precinct can now accommodate 1,000 people. In 2016, one precinct could accommodate only 800 voters.
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