72 percent of VRVM in Cotabato City, Maguindanao fail to work

The midterm elections on Monday, May 13, 2019, saw the introduction of the Voters Registration Verification Machine (VRVM), which proved useful to a voter at Mariano Elementary School in Makati City. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – An election official in Maguindanao expressed shock that 72 percent of the Voter Registration Verification Machines (VRVM) in Maguindanao and this city failed to work during the recently concluded midterm elections.

Lawyer Ernie Palanan, provincial election supervisor in Maguindanao, said Commission on Elections (Comelec) data showed that 776 VRVM and 25 vote counting machines (VCM) bogged down in several precincts in Maguindanao province, resulting in voters going through manual verification on Election Day.

The VRVM identifies voters listed in specific polling precincts by reading their fingerprints. The system is supposed to address issues of flying voters.

Palanan said he was shocked that most of the issues raised during the elections were about the poll machines not working.

He said he was puzzled because the VRVMs worked during their pilot run.

As a result, the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) resorted to manually verifying the identity of registered voters before allowing them to cast their votes.

The canvassing of votes from the province of Maguindanao and Cotabato City already started at the Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) hall and Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex, respectively. (Editor: Cenon B. Bibe Jr.)