NBOC suspends session on Sunday with 159 COCs canvassed

OFFICIAL COUNT Comelec personnel readies the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City where the National Board of Canvassers will be canvassing votes of the 2022 national elections. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — The canvassing of senatorial and party-list votes by the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) was suspended on Sunday with 159 certificates of canvass (COCs) taken into account.

During Sunday’s session at around 4:55 p.m., the Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting as the NBOC, ended its session leaving just 14 COCs unaccounted for.

There are 173 COCs from local and overseas voting sites.  Earlier, acting Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said that 149 COCs were canvassed, leaving behind the 24 COCs:

• 19 Manual Overseas COC
• one Manual COC from the Vulnerable Sectors Office (VSO)
• one Manual COC for the 63 Barangays from North Cotabato
• one Electronic COC from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM, Lanao del Sur)
• one Electronic Overseas COC from Hong Kong
• one Electronic COC for Jordan

In an update, Laudiangco said that after the session closed, the 14 COCs left are the 11 manual COCs, two electronic COCs from Lanao del Sur and Hong Kong/ China, and one manual COC for the 63 barangays in North Cotabato.

The Comelec’s VSO is in charge of the voting for senior citizens, persons with disability, and other sectors like persons deprived of liberty.

Comelec’s partial and official count as of Sunday showed actor Robin Padilla still leading the senatorial race, with 25,856,168 votes, followed by Antique Rep. Loren Legarda with 23,614,960 votes, and broadcaster Raffy Tulfo with 22,801,648 votes.

READ: PARTIAL, OFFICIAL COUNT: Robin Padilla still leads senatorial race

/MUF