FORMER Cebu City mayor Michael Rama said he will no longer seek public office if future elections continue to use automated counting machines.
This statement came after he placed third in the recent local elections—a result he questioned during a media interview.
Rama expressed doubts about the outcomes, particularly the losses of incumbent councilors Jocelyn Pesquera and Noel Wenceslao.
“Who would believe that veterans, with almost 20 years of service, would lose? That’s the real issue here,” he said in Cebuano.
He also lamented the unexpected failure of many Partido Barug members to secure council seats.
“I felt like crying after seeing many of our colleagues didn’t make it,” Rama said in Cebuano.
The former mayor called for more transparent elections, proposing a hybrid canvassing system that would combine manual counting at polling places with automated transmission to the central office. / JPS