The National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) resumes canvassing votes for May 13 elections. (Photo by DARRYL JOHN ESGUERRA / INQUIRER.net)
MANILA, Philippines—Sectoral groups, led by Akbayan Party Chairperson Emeritus Etta Rosales, on Friday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to conduct also special random manual audit (RMA) for the party-list votes in the May 13 polls.
Only votes for senators, congressman, and mayors are currently covered by RMA, which started on Wednesday, two days after the midterm elections.
READ: Random manual audit of May polls to extend for 24 days — Lente
In a letter to Comelec Commissioner Luie Tito Guia, head of the RMA Committee, petitioners said one of the reasons why they were asking for a special RMA for party-list votes is the alleged widespread instances of discrepancy between the votes in the ballots and the result reflected in the vote verification paper audit trail.
They also cited the supposed disenfranchisement of voters due to defective vote counting machines (VCMs) and SD cards and reports of misprinted ballots.
On election day, Comeelc reported that around 961 VCMs and 1,665 SD cards suffered glitches
READ: 961 VCMs, 1,665 SD cards suffer glitches in 2019 polls — Comelec
The groups also explained that party-list representatives should be subject to the same process of verification, as proclaimed nominees are members of the House of Representatives, “co-equal with district representatives whose votes are subject to RMA.”
“We submit this petition in hopes of ensuring the transparency and credibility of the 2019 election results,” the petition letter dated May 17 read. (Editor: Jonathan P. Vicente)