PATIENTLY WAITING. Voters in one of the precincts in Cagayan de Oro City wait for their turn to cast their votes on Monday (May 9, 2022). The National Movement for Free Elections reported some issues of paper jams in the vote-counting machines, clarifying that these were also experienced in other parts of the country. (Photo courtesy of MJ Bacayo)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Ballot paper jams and minor glitches in the vote-counting machines (VCMs) were experienced by voters here as in other places, the local chapter of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) said Monday.
Nestor Banauag Jr., focal person for Namfrel-Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental chapter, said about 120 out of 350 volunteers reported the incident as they cast their votes early in the morning.
"So far, there were six voting centers where nine precincts had ballot paper jams and VCM glitches," Banauag said in an interview, adding they received reports of several more incidents in the afternoon.
He also confirmed that some precincts did "batch feeding," in which members of the Electoral Board (EB) told voters to leave their ballots and let the EBs feed them to the VCM.
This happened in one of the voting clusters in Bugo Elementary School when the VCMs experienced malfunctions, he said, adding that the issues were later resolved.
Meanwhile, most voters interviewed by the Philippine News Agency (PNA) said their experience has been smooth, despite delays due to the long queues of voters.
Lenz Marie Libres, a voter whose precinct was in Canitoan Elementary School, said the voting process needed improvement.
"I arrived at Canitoan school (at) six in the morning and the machine would not work until 7 a.m. plus. By then, there (were) already many seniors, PWD (persons with disabilities), pregnant women who arrived," she said. (PNA)
