Various groups mounted a protest in front of the main office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday, May 10, a day of the conduct of the May 2022 elections.
According to the crowd estimate of the Manila Police District, protesters numbering 400 marched in front of the Comelec office, calling out the alleged widespread electoral fraud and unpreparedness of the poll body.
Numerous reports on Election Day, May 9, surfaced on social media in relation to Vote Counting Machines (VCMs) breaking down, halting the otherwise smooth conduct of the electoral process.
Many aired frustration over Comelec's contingency measures which include leaving the ballot to batch-fed to the machines which some suspected as a means to cheat. Comelec Commissioner George Garcia clarified that this is part of the contingency plans in place. Others on the other hand, had to wait long hours for the machines to be replaced since they will be transported from Laguna.
Despite this, Commissioner Marlon Casquejo, head of the steering committee of the said polls, reported a swift delivery of replacements and called the other occurrences as isolated incidents that will not affect the integrity of the elections.
The protest also came after the release of the partial and unofficial count based on the transparency server of the Comelec where former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and his running-mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte are leading the presidential and vice presidential race, respectively.
Some of the known personalities spotted during the protest according to the MPD were Kontra Daya convenor Danilo Arao, ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro, Fr. Robert Reyes, and Renato Reyes.
As of 10:33 a.m., the police said that the groups are planning to head to Liwasang Bonifacio.