Bam Aquino to voters: Don’t leave precincts until you get receipts

Comelec logo and VCM, INQUIRER GRAPHICS

MANILA, Philippines — Amid reports that some voters are being asked to leave their ballots at poll precincts after some vote counting machines (VCMs) turned faulty, former senator Bam Aquino asked voters to stay inside polling precincts until they get the receipts of their votes cast.

Aquino on Monday, election day, asked voters to strengthen their resolve and endure the long queues and the hot weather to ensure that their votes will be counted.

Similarly, Aquino — who serves as the campaign manager of presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo — said voters can call their “pink hotlines” to report any faulty VCM.

I-save ang mga ito at i-share. Maraming salamat! pic.twitter.com/OGhN3u83r3

— Bam Aquino (@bamaquino) May 9, 2022

“Ang ating panawagan sa mga kababayan ngayong araw: walang aalis ng voting precinct hangga’t hindi niyo pa nache-check ang resibo ng inyong balota,” Aquino said in posts on his social media accounts.

“Mahabang pila at init? Tibayan ang loob. Sirang VCMs at pananakot? I-report sa ating hotlines. Titindig tayo para sa Pilipinas!” he added.

Another of Robredo’s staffers, spokesperson Barry Gutierrez, said he was in line to vote at around 5:30 a.m. but he and other voters in his precinct were asked to go back after the VCM encountered errors.

Around 9:00 a.m., Gutierrez said he was in line for three hours but there were no updates given except that a Smartmatic technician was on the way to address the issue.

Smartmatic is the automated election provider of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Gutierrez was not alone in having to line up for hours to vote even as polling precincts opened at 6:00 a.m. with some VCMs breaking down.  Under rules set by the Commission on Elections, voters are allowed to leave their ballots behind to be inserted into the VCM by members of the board of election inspectors.

Photos sent to INQUIRER.net by concerned citizens showed some voters and senior citizens opting to leave their ballots behind at the Jose Rizal Elementary School in Tondo Manila.

Earlier, Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said that the poll body has not received any major reports about precincts encountering problems.

He said the Comelec is taking it as a signal that a lot of areas have opened their voting precincts, as they are focusing on reports of “problems and issues that prevented polling areas from starting”.

READ: Comelec spox: Lack of reports a sign that most voting precincts are now open

/MUF