Comelec allows Binay vote, says VCM ‘defective, not ballot’
IT is the vote counting machine (VCM) that is defective, not the ballot, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) told former vice president Jejomar Binay on Monday when he complained about how the VCM coughed out his ballot eight times, effectively nullifying his vote.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez disclosed this in a press briefing after a closed-door meeting with Binay at the poll body’s counting center at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).
“So gagawin natin ngayon yung mga na-reject will be fed backed to the machine. And so the ballot of VP Binay will also be evaluated kung pwede ma re-feed back. Then we will respond to the rest of the problem when we get there,” Jimenez said.
After ironing out an agreement with Comelec for a chance to re-cast his vote, Jejomar Binay's newly issued ballot has been successfully fed to the VCM in his poll precinct. @TheManilaTimes pic.twitter.com/NwwitD8CaW
— Neil Servallos (@tmtnjservallos) May 13, 2019
(related story: Former vice-president Binay to file complaint as VCM coughs out ballot 8 times)
“Sa ngayon tinanggap na ni VP Binay ang solusyon na yun. Siya ngayon ay babalik ngmakati kasama si Director [Frances Arabe] ng EID (Education and INformation Division) to assist him in finding a way out of this solution,” he added.
“I repeat, the problem was the machine. So the machine will have to be kept intact then replaced,” he said.
Jimenez did not explain how the Comelec concluded that the VCM was defective.
Jimenez before the meeting said that it was the ballot that maybe defective, probably caused by markings or smudge, which caused the VCM not to read the ballot.
Binay accepted the solution even as he admitted that he was very angry earlier in the day because he was denied his right to vote.
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