THE Archdiocesan Commission on Elections Monitoring-Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (ACE-COM PPCRV) reported that one of the recurring issues they encountered was voters whose records could not be found. The group said it has assisted around 60 individuals with the same issue.
Atty. Aileen Lizada, spokesperson of ACE-COM PPCRV, said that aside from the "no record found" issue, they also discovered a case where a voter looking for his precinct number found out he had already been recorded as deceased.
“We were able to assist 66 polls coming from the ground as regards to no record found,” she said during the Kapihan sa PIA, on Wednesday morning, May 14, 2025, at NCCC Mall VP.
Lizada said that concerns regarding missing records were forwarded to the "Blue Vote" team, which is responsible for handling such issues.
She added that, in total, they acted on 121 reports and addressed them on the day of the election.
Another issue they encountered was that some members of the Electoral Board (EB) were not fully familiar with the general instructions of the electoral process. There were instances where voters were marked with indelible ink despite not having voted yet, and in another case, a precinct mistakenly issued two ballots to a single voter.
ACE-COM PPCRV also noted long queues in clustered precincts, despite extended voting hours. Lizada said that while Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) are faster than the older Voter’s Counting Machines (VCMs), the clustering of precincts failed to take into account the actual time it takes each voter to complete the process.
She also pointed out that some polling centers were not Persons with Disabilities (PWD)-friendly, as individuals in wheelchairs had difficulty accessing certain areas.
Lizada attributed some of these issues to the long working hours of Electoral Board members, many of whom served for more than 17 hours straight.
She said she had already raised these concerns with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and has been in active coordination with them throughout the election period.
Meanwhile, she noted that there is now a higher level of trust in Comelec compared to previous years, as the agency has become more open and accommodating.
“Our assessment is good based on our experience for the past election. Honest, orderly, and peaceful elections,” she said.
Lizada expressed hope that the recent National and Local Elections (NLE) would serve as valuable preparation for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), as well as the 2028 presidential elections.
Meanwhile, Atty. Gay Enumerables, assistant regional director of Comelec-Davao Region, confirmed that aside from the incident in New Corella, there were other significant incidents reported in the region during the election.
Enumerables acknowledged that some issues, such as the accidental issuance of two ballots to a voter, were due to the long working hours of EBs. However, she maintained that the overall flow of the elections was smooth.
“Generally, tayo sa Davao Region, peaceful, orderly, ang elections natin (Generally, here in Davao Region our election is peaceful and orderly),” she said.
In Davao City, Enumerables noted that around nine vote-counting machines had to be replaced. While some machines malfunctioned, the presence of on-site technical staff allowed for immediate resolution.
Enumerables also extended her gratitude to those who served during the elections, including the Department of Education (DepEd), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and ACE-COM PPCRV, among others. RGP