Cebu province elections: Around 50 VCMs malfunction but Comelec says ‘so far, so good’
The Vote Counting Machine for clustered precinct 757 in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City was brought back to its assigned precinct after undergoing repair that lasted for about three hours. The VCM malfunctioned shortly after voting started at 6 a.m. on Monday, May 9, 2022. CDN Digital photo | Delta Letigio
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Except for several malfunctioning vote-counting machines (VCM), voting in various poll centers in Cebu province was peaceful and orderly during the first half of Election Day on May 9, 2022.
“So far, so good. Very peaceful atong elections run no… Nothing (major) has been reported,” said Lawyer Jerome Brillantes, acting Provincial Elections Supervisor of the Commission on Elections in Cebu (Comelec-Cebu).
However, Brillantes confirmed that they were able to receive reports of malfunctioning VCMs all over the province.
Based on their rough estimate, around 50 VCMs deployed in Cebu province crashed.
“Naghuwat pa ta sa official information and report (from our polling centers) as to the tally (sa VCMs nga nimalfunction)… But yes, tinood na. Maybe as of now (3:30 p.m.), naa sa 50 kabuuk VCMs nimalfunction,” said Brillantes.
Fortunately, election personnel were able to immediately troubleshoot the malfunctioned machines and voters were still able to cast their ballots smoothly, he added.
“Everything is manageable,” Brillantes said.
In Cebu City, the polling center serving voters in Barangays Pasil and Suba experienced brief power interruption after a dove got entangled with power lines nearby and got electrocuted.
In the province, Comelec-Cebu said they are verifying reports that power in a polling center in Minglanilla town, southern Cebu also went down.
“But wala pa mi kadawat ug official information. It’s still being verified,” Brillantes pointed out.
Cebu is the country’s most vote-rich province, with over 3.2 million registered voters. The numbers include those from the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue.
/bmjo
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