Vice presidential candidate Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Monday urged voters and poll watchers to keep an eye on the ballots and ensure these are secured.
“Panawagan natin syempre bantayan natin. Wag tayo umuwi hangga’t maari ng hindi natin naipapasok yung ating balota sa machine mismo. Konting pasensya, konting tiis. Tutal matatapos din lahat ito. Wag tayo bibitiw ‘ika nga. (We urge the voters to guard the ballots and as much as possible, don’t go home until they could personally put the ballot into the machine. Have patience and let us not give up),” he said while waiting for his turn to cast his vote at the Inchican Elementary School in Silang, Cavite.
He arrived with his wife, actress Sharon Cuneta, at the polling venue around 10 a.m. They queued for three hours and were able to cast their votes around 1:25 p.m.
A number of netizens on Monday posted about faulty vote-counting machines (VCMs) in their polling precincts.
Pangilinan said he was not surprised that there would be malfunctioning machines, basing it on what happened in 2013 and from the reports he was receiving while heading to the polling venue.
“I hope and I pray that this won’t be like what happened in the 2019 elections,” he added.
“In 2019, about 3 million votes in certain regions were affected by corrupted SD cards and malfunctioning VCMs. That’s a big number,” Pangilinan said.
He also urged the public to head to the polling precincts early, so if there would be obstacles like being unable to find their needs, there would still be time to fix such problems.
Further, Pangilinan called on poll watchers to take precautions and be meticulous with regard to the ballots.
“Busisiin lahat. Pag iniwan ang balota, bantayan. Huwag papayag kung saan-saan ilalagay yung balota. (Examine everything. Don’t allow ballots to be placed just anywhere),” he said.
Pangilinan has always made addressing food security part of his speeches during his campaign with running mate, presidential aspirant and Vice President Leni Robredo.
Source: Philippines News Agency