MAY 9, 2022 National and Local Elections reached a climactic stage as millions of Filipinos went to their respective voting precincts to cast their vote for the next leaders in the country.
Definitely, there were some issues that were faced in some precincts -- some qualified voters were just finding out that they have been deactivated, some of whom voted in 2019; some vote counting machines experienced glitches or were malfunctioning; voting system in some precincts were not organized; and effects of the weather for some areas, to name a few.
Commission on Elections commissioner George Garcia said over 1,800 VCMs have encountered problems during the conduct of the elections. These issues included paper jam, rejected ballot, and VCM scanner and printer malfunction.
The election was also not spared from alleged vote-buying, tampering, and cheating incidents. There are unverified social media posts claiming that some ballots are being pre-shaded, certain groups of people allegedly forcing people to shade certain candidates, and a different voting receipt coming out from the VCM.
There were also reported and suspected election-related violence in some parts of Mindanao, particularly in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanano (Barmm). One confirmed incident is the shooting incident in Buluan, Maguindanao wherein three members of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team were killed. Other alleged violence have yet to be verified by authorities.
After yesterday’s series of events, now we wait for the declaration of who will be our next set of leaders. But as to when that will be declared, we hope it will be done as soon as possible. Knowing some of the reported issues, there could be a bit of delay in declaring the winner.
As we wait, let’s hope and pray that the 2022 National and Local Election results will be one that is honest, free from cheating, and transparent.