A BOARD of Election Inspector (BEI) in Davao City is facing sanctions after they accidentally deleted the stored data of the compact flash (CF) card containing the votes of a ballot box.
The Commission on Elections-Davao City (Comelec-Davao City) granted the request of the inspector of Cluster Precinct 249 in Brgy 76-A during the canvassing of votes at the Sangguniang Panlungsod on Tuesday, May 10.
The Board of Canvassers, headed by chairman Sitti Shahane Balt, granted the petition for a recount of the ballot. This resulted in the Electoral Board (EB) unsealing the ballot box for ballot feeding on Tuesday evening, around 9 p.m.
Comelec-Davao Region assistant director Lawyer Gay Enumerables said in a press conference on Wednesday, May 11, that the board was shocked by the incident.
While this is not the first time it happened, the official emphasized that this should not happen as it had resulted in the delay of the transmission of votes.
"During the training, we emphasized from every stage of the training na walay re-zero na mahitabo (that there should be no re-zero of the cards) on election day," Enumerables said.
Enumerables said that the teacher, who accidentally deleted the data, might have been exhausted from the election preparation.
However, she said this is still not a valid reason, considering that Comelec had conducted various training and briefing sessions.
As to the possible sanctions, the lawyer said they might be barred from serving the 2025 midterm elections.
Balt, meanwhile, said a total of around 560 ballots were refeeded due to a "re-zeroed" card.
The canvassing official, however, declined to discuss the possible sanctions the BEI might be facing. (RGL)