Voting delayed in some Surigao City precincts due to VCM glitches

SURIGAO CITY — Voting has stalled in some polling areas here due to malfunctioning vote counting machines (VCMs), frustrating voters who have been lining up as early as 5.30 a.m. Monday.

In one polling precinct in suburban Barangay Luna, voting temporarily stopped at around 7.30 a.m. when the VCM assigned at Precinct 288-A started rejecting the ballots. It resumed three hours later amid grumblings from voters, some of whom were senior citizens.

In another precinct, voting was delayed when the VCM unit suffered paper jam.

Laywer April Joy Balano, Surigao del Norte provincial election supervisor, said similar technical glitches were  reported in some municipalities in the province.

“Ballot jams” and ballot rejection errors commonly occur when some parts of the VCM “are not properly placed or aligned,” according to Balano.

However, Balano said the glitches “are not as widespread” and have been “manageable.”

She also assured the public that the Comelec had enough technicians to address the technical glitches, while contingency measures have been put in place in case the VCM errors persist.

“We have one technician per three VCMs in all polling areas. We also have two standby VCMs per town and four in Surigao City,” she told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

In most polling precincts, however, voting has proceeded without incident as of 1 p.m.

John Vincent Sitoy, 19, a first time voter, said he was thankful he completed the process in under three minutes.

“The day will get hotter as more people are coming by the hour, so I’m glad I’m done this early so that I can go back home and relax,” said Aldama who, like his friends, wore red t-shirts. They said they voted for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Police have not reported any untoward incident so far.  SFM/rga

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