The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) told voters not to sign waivers if they have yet to accomplish their ballots. This developed as reports on issues like malfunctioning vote-counting machines (VCMs) have been reported to PPCRV in the morning of election day.
"Pag hindi n'yo pa po nase-shade ang ballot, 'wag po kayong magwe-waiver kasi baka iba po ang bumoto on your behalf (If you haven't shaded your ballot, don't sign a waiver because others might vote on your behalf)," PPCRV Chairperson Myla Villanueva said in an ambush interview with reporters Monday, May 9.
Villanueva also reminded the voters to not leave their ballots at the polling precincts "unless they trust the watchers in the precincts to watch your ballots."
The church-based poll watchdog also reported that as of Monday noon, the reports on election-related complaints like the faulty machines and long lines on polling sites are "not yet alarming."
"The past elections, the VCM issues are arising but we have to remember that these are computing systems, right? There will always be a certain percentage that will break down but it is not yet at an alarming level but we are monitoring very closely," Villanueva said.
"We encourage voters to please be patient, we do know that there are certain things that will happen in the precincts and sometimes, we really have to wait," she added.
Villanueva also enjoined the citizens to help one another and keep the election peaceful until it ends.
"Be patient and let the day take its course. If there are very very unusual na nangyayari kayo po ang unang makakarinig sa amin (incidents, you will first hear it from us)," she said.
The PPCRV is an accredited citizens’ arm of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) tasked to monitor the unofficial parallel count and validate votes by checking election returns via information transmitted through their servers.
Its command center is located at the Quadricentennial Pavilion of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila.