Comelec Commissioner Guanzon laments more glitches in polls

Election Commissioner Rowena Guanzon. INQUIRER PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon lamented on Tuesday more glitches reported during the elections on Monday compared to the 2016 polls.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, the Comelec said 961 out of 85,000 vote counting machines (VCMs) in polling precincts across the country “experienced issues.” Nevertheless, 9,000 VCMs were available as replacements.

READ: Comelec: Voting ‘a little problematic’; success lies in count

Over 1,000 SD cards also suffered glitches, while data packets from the Comelec transparency server malfunctioned for seven hours, causing the delay in the release of partial election results to poll watchdogs.

“[Ang] dami ng problema [na] hindi ko naranasan ito [noon], [from] ‘yung last elections. [Ang] problema [noon] hindi dahil sa machine, pero [ngayon] ‘yung mismong machine ang nagkaproblema, SD cards hindi [rin nagkaproblema noon]. Ngayon yung SD cards, a thousand ata ang defective,” she said in an interview with Radyo Inquirer.

(I never experience these problems in the last elections. The problems were not on the machines themselves or the SD cards. Now, a thousand SD cards were defective.)

Amid the issues, Guanzon said the Comelec acknowledged public indignation over the glitches.

“May karapatan din naman ang tao magalit, kasi ang Comelec ilang beses na kami nagpapa-eleksyon gamit ang makina,” she said.

(The people have the right to be angry, because the Comelec has administered elections using machines many times before.)

“It’s the right of the people to feel frustrated. Kami ngang (Even us) commissioners we are frustrated. The people have the right to criticize us,” she also said. (Editor: Cenon B. Bibe Jr.)