BUTUAN CITY (MindaNews/10 May) – “Unsystematic” procedures and faulty precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines are to blame for the delays in the voting in several parts of the city, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) of the Diocese of Butuan said.
In a press briefing at the Fr. Saturnino Urios University (FSUU) here, Fr. Randy Jasper Odchigue of the PPCRV media affairs blamed the glitches on the Commission on Elections.
Aside from the PCOS machines that malfunctioned, Odchigue said the clustering of precincts also contributed to the delays because some voters had difficulties locating their names.
Reports reaching the PPCRV said some of the PCOS machines hung up while others rejected the official ballots, a problem attributed to the voters’ wet hands.
Rains poured in the city early in the morning when many voters were queuing outside their respective precincts.
In Barangay Ampayon, voting in one precinct was stopped for three hours due to problems with the PCOS machine.
The other barangays where PCOS machines malfunctioned were Tiniwisan, Mandacpan, Villakananga, J.P. Rizal, San Vicente and Mahogany.
Meanwhile, at least 388 of 450 inmates voted inside the Butuan City Jail in Barangay Libertad at 5pm. The other inmates were not registered as voters prior to their detention.
The Diocese of Butuan, which is headed by Bishop Juan De Dios Pueblos, covers Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur.
The two provinces have a total 1,012 clustered polling precincts covering 24 towns and the cities of Butuan, Bayugan and Cabadbaran. (Alden Pantaleon, Jr./MindaNews)
