Vico Sotto (right), Pasig City mayoralty candidate, confers with people at the voting center at the Valle Verde 5 covered court. INQUIRER.NET / GABRIEL LALU PABICO
MANILA, Philippines — Following reports of malfunctioning vote counting machines (VCMs), Pasig City mayoralty candidate Vico Sotto urged voters to delay voting until the machines are fixed or new devices are delivered.
According to Sotto, whose precinct had a faulty VCM, he was given a choice to shade his ballot and leave it with election officers. However, he chose to delay voting due to the fear that it might be switched with a pre-shaded ballots that would benefit other candidates.
“Personally, hindi ako boboto hangga’t ‘di gumagana ‘yung machine, para makita ko na nabilang ‘yung boto ko, nakita ko ‘yong resibo na nabilang nang tama ‘yung boto ko,” Sotto told reporters at the polling center in Valle Verde 5 village on Monday morning.
“I encourage voters to do the same, wait until the machine is working, until the machine can receive your vote and that you can see that your vote is counted,” he added.
Sotto clarified that he saw no problem with leaving ballots to election officers, but he also asked stakeholders, including members of the opposing tickets, to safeguard the votes.
“Pero kung hindi talaga kaya, naiintindihan ko rin kung pumapayag sila na iwanan ‘yung balota,” he said.
“Pero sa mga nandoon ng 6 p.m., muli nanawagan ako sa mga poll watcher of all sides, sa lahat ng present na magbantay tayo, make sure that our votes are counted and hindi tayo masingitan ng ibang mga balota,” he explained.
The son of celebrities Vic Sotto and Connie Reyes is running against incumbent Mayor Robert “Bobby” Eusebio, whose family has led Pasig for 27 years.
READ: Vico Sotto: Pasigueños looking for change in governance
According to the candidate, they have received reports of election-related problems, but their primary concern was the possible swapping of ballots.
“May mga problema here and there but so far wala pa namang major na problem, binabantayan na lang talaga natin para walang masingit mga balota mamaya kapag papasok na lahat,” Sotto said. (Editor: Cenon B. Bibe Jr.)
READ: Vico Sotto delays vote due to glitch in vote counting machine
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