Protesters converge to amplify calls against irregularities, ‘rigged’ elections
Public clamor continues amid the blatant ineffectiveness of this year’s elections
Individuals and progressive groups gathered in front of the COMELEC office a day after the elections, May 10, in Intramuros, Manila to protest the absence of safety, security, and fairness in this year’s polls.
The Manila Police District reported that around 400 people joined the mobilization, organized due to the many instances of alleged electoral fraud all across the country.
Doubts over the integrity of the constitutional body and the very election stemmed from numerous technical glitches, transmission delays, the inability of precincts to accommodate voters, and various electoral violations. This also includes incidences of vote-buying and illegal campaigning.
Issues of vote-counting machines (VCM) malfunctioning, ballots being rejected, and the faulty transmission of results also caused delays for both voters and the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI).
A VCM at clustered precinct 1925 at Culiat Elementary School in Quezon City wreaked havoc on election day, causing a 12-hour delay in transmission, teachers working overnight, and voters queuing up for almost three kilometers.
Despite these occurrences, COMELEC claims that the accuracy of polls is guaranteed and that the fast transmission of votes is valid, given their extensive preparation from equipment, facilities, programs, and human resources.
Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr. consistently leads in the partial and unofficial results based on the COMELEC Transparency Media Server.
As of May 5, 2022, at 12:05 a.m., the dictator’s son has garnered 31,052,840 votes, doubling the partial and unofficial voter turnout of opposition candidate Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo at 14,800,450 votes.
In the vice-presidential race, presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte continue to dominate at 31,501,412, far from Sen. Kiko Pangilinan’s 9,219,908 votes in second place.
Alongside the calls for clean elections, protesters rallied against the impending Marcos-Duterte rule in Malacañang, fearing what lies ahead for the country in the next six years.
