Intense heat also caused some Vote Counting Machines (VCMs) in Bacolod City to malfunction, Elections Officer Revo Sorbito said Monday, May 9.
However, troubleshooting was undertaken to get them to operate properly, he said.
Sorbito did not have the exact number of VCMs that malfunctioned in Bacolod City.
It is so hot, these VCMs like computers were made to operate in cooler environments, Sorbito said.
He said one VCM that malfunctioned was replaced at Hervias, while a machine problem was also reported in Barangay Handumanan.
Some areas where the VCMs malfunctioned left voters waiting in long lines for hours.
There were numerous complaints against the slow pace of voting and of vote buying in Bacolod City.
Sorbito said he has received a lot of vote buying complaints in Bacolod City but so far no arrests had been made. That is because when law enforcers are sent to the areas where the alleged vote buying is happening, they are no longer any people to arrest, he said.
Police blotter reports are made based on the complaints but evidence and witnesses are needed, he said. Most of the complaints were made by anonymous persons, he said.
Sorbito said there were long lines of voters at polling centers all over Bacolod City.
He said no names disappear from the COMELEC voters lists, the problem is caused by voters’ failure to check earlier if their names are still there. Those who did not vote in two previous elections have been delisted, Sorbito said.
The Board of Canvassers in Bacolod City convened at the Bacolod City Government Center for the canvass of the returns from the precincts that was expected to start Monday night.*