THE May 12, 2025 elections in Central Visayas were described as generally orderly by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) 7, though several technical issues with automated counting machines (ACMs) and ballot delivery caused disruptions at various polling centers.
Comelec 7 Director Francisco Pobe Jr. acknowledged the ACM problems, stating they were “manageable” and primarily attributed to incorrect ballot feeding or dirty optical readers. Despite these issues, Pobe characterized the election as “generally peaceful and successful.”
At Guadalupe Elementary School in Cebu City, a precinct temporarily halted ballot insertion due to a paper jam.
Former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama, a mayoral candidate, experienced this firsthand, waiting over 30 minutes to cast his ballot.
At Robinsons Galleria, some precincts encountered minor problems with voters overshading or folding ballots, which Department of Education Supervisor Official (Deso) Churchita Padernal said were quickly resolved. Another precinct at Robinsons Galleria experienced a brief delay due to incorrect initial ACM setup.
In Mandaue City, two ACMs malfunctioned at separate polling centers in Barangays Cabancalan and Subangdaku, failing to read ballots and causing delays, particularly for senior citizens and early voters in Cabancalan.
Deso technical support staff Lannie Balase attributed the problem in Cabancalan to ballots being inserted with stillwet marker ink. The Comelec provided replacement ACMs.
In Lapu-Lapu City, a clustered precinct at Gun-ob Elementary School experienced a ballot shortage.
A voter, Allen (not her real name), who had served on the electoral board in 2022 and 2023 and has voted since 2016, reported this was a first-time experience. Another voter said they had been waiting since 2 p.m. and were told additional ballots would arrive.
According to this voter, an electoral board member explained that clustered precinct 129 had only 500 ballots for an alleged 700 voters. Some voters were redirected to another clustered precinct.
SunStar Cebu’s attempts to contact the Comelec LapuLapu City Office were unsuccessful.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia reported that approximately 200 ACMs were replaced nationwide due to technical malfunctions. Garcia stated that while the machines did not completely stop working, they frequently rejected ballots, necessitating immediate replacement to prevent further delays.
“We have more or less 200 machines that need to be replaced. They didn’t completely stop working, but we noticed they tend to reject ballots about twice,” Garcia said.
Malfunctioning ACMs were also reported in Mandaluyong City, Meycauayan City and Batangas Province.
Garcia assured that Comelec had 16,000 extra ACMs available for replacement.
Comelec 7 Director Pobe also reported minor issues with misdelivered ballots.
A total of 183 ballots in seven areas of Cebu and Bohol were mistakenly delivered but were quickly resolved. Specific incidents included:
19 ballots for Balamban sent to Bantayan;
20 ballots for Argao delivered to Aloguinsan;
102 ballots for Barangay Lambason in San Remigio sent to Barangay Tambogon;
42 ballots for Pardo, Cebu City, delivered to Candijay, Bohol; and
44 ballots in Mandaue lacking a second page.
Pobe stated that voting began as scheduled at 7 a.m. and that he coordinated with election officers to expedite the correct delivery of ballots while maintaining security protocols.
Comelec also worked with the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard to ensure timely ballot delivery, especially in remote areas like Bantayan Island.
Pobe asserted that these incidents would not delay the election’s conclusion, saying, “These incidents will not delay the end of the elections. It’s only a small number of ballots.”
He estimated that 50 to 60 percent of Region 7 voters had cast their votes by 1 p.m. and expressed hope for an 80 to 85 percent voter turnout.
Pobe also noted the efficiency of the new ACMs in issuing receipts.
Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan, director of Police Regional Office 7, visited polling centers across Cebu to ensure security and reported no election-related crimes in the region.
PRO 7 deployed 9,170 police personnel to over 2,000 polling centers.
Police recorded seven vote-buying cases (five in Bohol and two in Cebu), and arrested 10 persons for violating the Comelec gun ban and two persons for violating the liquor ban. (CDF, JJL, EHP, CAV, DPC, TPM, AYB)