ILOILO City – Ballot jamming and regular voters breaching designated voting hours for vulnerable groups were among the minor yet disruptive issues encountered during the elections on Monday, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) here.
City Election Officer and Board of Canvassers chair Atty. Pinky Tentativa said that while voting across the city was generally peaceful and orderly, some precincts faced brief interruptions due to improperly inserted ballots in the vote-counting machines (VCMs) and confusion over voting schedules.
“Most of the paper jams were due to the way some voters inserted their ballots,” Tentativa explained. “Some ballots were crumpled, slanted, or inserted forcefully, which caused the machines to reject or jam the entry.”
Trained personnel responded immediately to address these glitches and ensured the continuation of the voting process, she stressed.
Another issue arose during the 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. time slot exclusively allocated for senior citizens, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities (PWDs). Tentativa revealed that some able-bodied voters insisted on voting during this period, resulting in minor disputes at certain polling centers.
“While the Comelec has allocated a dedicated time early in the morning to give priority to our vulnerable voters, there were still some able-bodied individuals who insisted on voting during this period,” she said. “This led to minor disagreements in some areas, but our election personnel managed to de-escalate the situations and explain the guidelines clearly.”
Tentativa reiterated that these were isolated incidents and did not significantly affect the overall conduct of the elections in Iloilo City. She credited the preparedness of election officers and the cooperation of the voting public for the smooth proceedings./PN
