Faulty PCOS compound poll logistical nightmare, Namfrel field reports show

Damaso Magbual, chairman of the membership committee of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), tells a media briefing Monday, May 13, 2013, on faulty precinct count optical machines (machines), the switching of ballot boxes in some provinces and other related concerns that may affect results of the elections. Video by INQUIRER.net’s Cathy Miranda

MANILA, Philippines –Field reports filtering into the National Movement for Free Elections Monday indicated that logistical nightmare marred the voting in some areas in the country.

In its first press briefing at its national operations center in Mandaluyong City, Namfrel said the reports ranged from automated counting machine glitches to precinct congestion.

At the Graciano Elementary Scholl in Iloilo City, Namfrel reported that a precinct count optical scan (PCOS) failed.

In Daraga, Albay, seven machines at Estanza Elementary School encountered glitches while one apparatus in Camarines Sur also failed.

Two PCOS machines in Makati also suffered technical foul-up.

The poll watch dog also received scattered reports about missing voters’ lists, congestion in precincts and interchanged ballots in some parts of the country.

Namfrel also noted:

* The absence of certified poll automation machine technicians  in Iloilo, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Albay, Metro Manila and Mt. Province;

* Widespread complaints of missing names on voters’ lists;

*Vote buying in Bulacan, Camarines Sur, Agusan del Norte and Sulu. Some voters who were allegedly expecting bribes in Agusan del Norte were removed from the list;

* Congestion in polling precincts due to physical limitations;

* Usual procedural lapses in indelible ink application. There were cases in which the indelible ink was applied on voters’ fingers before receiving ballots;
* Election-violence in Sulu that left one dead and two injured; and

* Conflict between a Namfrel volunteer and a PPCRV volunteer on poll duties. Vanessa Marayan