OCTA Research, Namfrel: No anomaly in alleged ’68:32 magic’

MANILA, Philippines — Poll watchdog National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and independent analytics group OCTA Research are not seeing any anomaly in the “68:32 magic” allegation.

The “68:32 magic” — a claim that for every vote update, a consistent pattern of 68 percent and 32 percent of the votes are going to former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo, respectively — has been making rounds on social media.

“We have not seen any irregularity that would lead to the said 68:32 magic. We have verified and validated the election results received via the transparency server vis-a-vis photo of election returns we received. We are studying the vote counts of other positions to determine [the] vote count ratios. We urge the Comelec (Commission on Elections) to respond to this issue in a manner that may best be understood by the general public,” Namfrel National Council member Lito Averia told INQUIRER.net in a message on Wednesday.

“The ratio observed in the reporting is not proof of any anomaly. It can be explained if the election returns are transmitted uniformly from all over the country. Moreover, geographic differences can be observed in the Comelec unofficial counts and are consistent with polling data,” OCTA Research fellow Guido David said in a separate message.

Citizens’ arm Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) earlier said that there are no irregularities in the claim.

Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo meanwhile noted that cheating will be “hard to prove” with the supposedly consistent 47-percent ratio between Marcos and Robredo.

Despite finding no irregularities on the ratio claim, Casquejo said the poll body can look into the matter.

Based on the electronically transmitted partial and unofficial results as of May 11, 10:47 a.m., Marcos is leading the presidential race with 31 million votes, followed by Vice President Leni Robredo with 14.8 million votes.

/MUF