Poll official: Half of VRVMs in Iloilo malfunctioned

ILOILO CITY— At least half of the 2,572 Voter Registration Verification Machines (VRVMs) in Iloilo province malfunctioned but did not cause a significant disruption in the voting process.

Lawyer Roberto Salazar, Iloilo election supervisor, said members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) resorted to manual verification of voter registration as part of the protocol on the use of the VRVM.

The VRVM is intended to hasten the verification of voter registration. Instead of a manual search from the list of registered voters, a voter’s identity can be verified through a fingerprint scan.

But the BEIs could not log in to the machines when polls opened at 6 a.m.

All three VRVMs at the Jibao-an Elementary School in Pavia town in Iloilo malfunctioned, according to Lucy Grace Bepinoso, Department of Education (DepEd) Supervisor Official.

Malfunctioning VRVMS also delayed the start of voting in many areas in Iloilo City amid a high turnout of voters.

The province and the city of Iloilo are among the 14 areas where the use of the VRVM is being pilot tested.

Salazar said 333 ballots were also misdelivered, including 220 ballots intended for the San Enrique town in Negros Occidental, which were included in the ballots sent to Anilao town in Iloilo.

The 113 ballots intended for Miag-ao town in Iloilo were inadvertently sent to Badiangan town in Iloilo.

The ballots were delivered to the intended areas by Monday morning, according to Salazar.

Amid numerous reports of vote-buying, Salazar said his office had received only one complaint as of Monday afternoon. (Editor: Eden Estopace)