- ACM glitches, ballot discrepancies reported; PPCRV monitors issues on overvotes
THE ARCHDIOCESAN Citizens Engagement Committee-Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (ACE-PPCRV) reported several issues across Davao City polling precincts as of 4:45 PM on Election Day, May 12, 2025, including automated counting machine (ACM) malfunctions and discrepancies between ballot selections and voter receipts.
According to the ACE-PPCRV report, a total of 100 election-related reports were received, with 96 resolved and 4 still ongoing.
The remaining unresolved cases involve ACM malfunctions in Districts 2 and 3.
Key issues reported:
- ACM Malfunctions: Four ongoing cases of ACM errors, including unscanned ballots, no voter receipt printing, jammed ballots, and general machine malfunctions.
- Ballot-Receipt Discrepancies: 18 reported cases of discrepancies between voters’ ballot selections and their receipts, including added candidates not chosen by voters and overvotes.
- Voter List Issues: Multiple reports of voters’ names missing or deactivated from voter lists, requiring referrals to the “Blue Vote” assistance program.
- Spoiled Ballots: Reports of spoiled ballots due to overshading, overvoting, and dotted ballots.
- Poll Watcher Access: Initial reports of poll watchers being denied entry to precincts, later resolved following Comelec intervention.
- Election Offenses: Reports of sample ballot distribution outside voting centers.
- Accessibility Concerns: Reports of polling precincts not being fully accessible to persons with disabilities (PWDs) and senior citizens.
- Overcrowding: Reports of crowded precincts due to high numbers of poll watchers and limited ACM availability.
Specific Incidents:
In District 1, cases of added senatorial candidates on receipts and invalidated overvotes were reported at Baliok Elementary School and Quezon Elementary School.
Atty. Aileen Lizada, spokesperson for the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), reported an issue involving a PPCRV employee’s voting experience in Davao City, potentially impacting election integrity.
Ira Patalinghug, voting in Precinct 0445A at Quezon Elementary School, reported: “I double-checked the number of shaded names to ensure I voted for only eight local councilors. However, the receipt showed an ‘OVERVOTE’ for the local councilors, and I was informed that these votes would not be counted.”
Lizada stated that the PPCRV is now monitoring and focusing on issues related to overvotes and undervotes.
District 2 saw numerous reports of additional votes appearing on receipts, mismatched scanned votes and receipts, and ballots being rejected due to overvotes.
District 3 reported discrepancies between voter selections and receipts, and unresolved ACM malfunctions at Vinson Elementary School.
In IGACOS, reports included voter receipts not reflecting cast votes, sample ballot distribution, and rejected ballots.
Although not reported in the PPCRV’s monitoring, TIMES monitored that between 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., an elderly couple’s votes were invalidated after being reported as overvotes, according to Maximo Placencia, the Department of Education Supervisor Official (DESO) assigned at Catigan Elementary School in Toril district, Davao City.
Placencia explained that the couple voted for senators, shading the circles for 12 candidates.
However, their ballots were rejected after being fed into the automated counting machine.
Placencia attributed the reason to the ink used to shade the circles possibly bleeding through the back of the ballot, causing the machine to misread it.
PPCRV actions
The ACE-PPCRV has documented all reported incidents in precinct minutes and relayed concerns to the Comelec and the DESO.
They have also addressed poll watcher access issues through Comelec XI intervention.
Atty. Jemimah Pearl C. D’lonsod, ACE-LEGAL, prepared the report, emphasizing the organization’s commitment to monitoring the integrity of the election process.
The PPCRV continues to monitor the situation, especially the remaining unresolved cases, and urges voters to carefully check their receipts and report any discrepancies.
