Groups called for an extension beyond 7 p.m. the election time this May 9 due to the failure of several vote-counting machines (VCMs) and power outages-case, it was equated by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
As many as 1,900 VCMs showed “routine issues” such as paper jams, rejection of ballots, problems with scanners, etc., except for the brownout that occurred in Bukidnon and Valenzuela during voting.
“Kabi-kabilang report ang natatanggap natin patungkol sa mga VCM at SD card na hindi umaandar at kailangan palitan,” said vice presidential candidate Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan in a statement, Monday.
“Nananawagan ako na i-extend ng COMELEC ng 2 oras ang pagboto sa mga lugar na apektado ng mga aberyang ito.”
He said the delay was not the fault of the voters. Many spent two, three, or sometimes more than four hours up the line.
The queue in many precincts is now getting longer due to the failures of the automated elections machine, something that voters and poll watchers are currently questioning.
The call of the Kontra Daya and Kabataan party-list groups is the same, especially since the extension of the voting hours will help prevent the disenfranchisement of the voters.
Comelec unlikely to extend voting hours
Despite this, Comelec commissioner George Garcia clarified earlier that they had not seen any reason to extend voter acceptance in the precincts today.
“‘Yung extension ng voting at this point ay negative. Hanggang ngayong oras na ito, the [Comelec] en banc is decided na hanggang 7 o’clock ang botohan,” he said.
“Nothing will justify extension of the voting at this point.”
Garcia further clarified that the brownout in some areas lasted only 15 minutes, something that was “not that long,” he said.
In areas such as Bohol, Leyte, Surigao, and Dinagat, the elections are still going on after allowing the rental of generator sets to ensure the power supply to the precincts.
“So aside from that, wala na po tayong nabalitaan na nawalan ng kuryente sa buong Pilipinas, mula sa Visayas o Luzon hanggang sa Mindanao.”
“Isolated incident po ‘yan [nangyari kanina].”
According to election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, the extension of the polls should be considered mainly the fault of the Comelec and not the voters, who did not prepare the VCMs properly.
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