PNP: 6 Lanao polling precincts still closed by mid-day

MANILA, Philippines – Six out of 36,831 voting centers nationwide remain are still non-operational as of midday on election day, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.

PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde said the six non-operational voting precincts are all located in Lanao del Norte.

He added that the delay of operations was due to malfunctioning vote counting machines (VCMs), SD cards, and absence of members of election boards.

“As of 12 noon kanina, anim na lang (‘yung non-operational), puro Lanao del Norte,” Albayalde said in a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

‘Yung problema, ‘yung mga VCM, nagmalfunction, marami tayong nakuhang reports na nagmalfunction yung mga VCM, even here in NCR,” he added.

Albayalde said that a total of 1,501 PNP personnel acted as election board members after assigned teachers did not show up in polling precincts in regions the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), northern Mindanao, Bicol region, and Calabarzon.

“Yung iba, talagang hindi lang alam. Basta raw hindi daw dumating. In the areas of Mindanao, expected naman, most especially sa BARMM,” Albayalde said.

“Dito sa NCR (National Capital Region), basta hindi lang sila dumating and also in Region 4-A (Calabarzon), basta hindi dumating ‘yung mga teachers so buti mayroong naka standby tayong mga trained EBs na personnel,” Albayalde added.

Aside from the delay operations of the voting centers, Albayalde said there were no major untoward incidents that disrupted the 2019 midterm elections.

(Editor: Gilbert S. Gaviola)