Election Day 2019

Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon says only Cardema's application for substitution was given due course.

"His substitution is not yet granted because there is a pending petition or opposition on the ground that he us over 30 yrs old and cannot be a representative of a youth sector party list," she adds.

From @commrguanzon: (only) his application for substitution was given due course. His substitution is not yet granted because there is a pending petition or opposition on the ground that he us over 30 yrs old and cannot be a representative of a youth sector party list. https://t.co/Lxi7JmbqVl

— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) June 4, 2019

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez says the substitution of former National Youth Commission Chair Ronald Cardema as Duterte Youth party-list nominee has been approved.

One Comelec commissioner dissented and one abstained in the voting.

Sen. JV Ejercito says that he is open to a Cabinet position if President Rodrigo Duterte offers him one.

"If I know I will be effective, if I know that I'll be able to help in that position, if I can share my expertise, why not?" he says in an interview over ANC's "Headstart."

Sen. JV Ejercito who lost his re-election bid says that if his brother Jinggoy Estrada had not run, he would have secured a Senate seat.

Their father, Erap Estrada, who also lost his re-election bid as Manila mayor, allowed both Jinggoy and him to run because he didn't want to choose between them, Ejercito says in an interview over ANC's "Headstart."

Election lawyer Romy Macalintal says Duterte Youth party-list nominees who backed out to give way to National Youth Commission Chair Ronald Gian Cardema may face a criminal case.

— The STAR/Sheila Crisostomo

Actor and former National Youth Commission Commissioner Dingdong Dantes weighs in on the filing for substitution of NYC Chair Ronald Gian Cardema after all five nominees of the Duterte Youth party-list backed out.

"Clearly, if the petition will be granted, parang na-railroad ang democratic process of choosing the rightful representative.I think we all agree that the young people should never—ever— be disenfranchised, especially in governance.But with the Youth Chief getting into this?Teka," Dantes says in a tweet.

"Ipinaglaban at patuloy na itinataguyod ng mga opisyal at empleyado ng @NYCPilipinas ang karapatan at kakayahan ng kabataang makibahagi sa pamamahala, regardless of regime. Huwag nating hayaang madamay at mabahiran ang importanteng institusyong ito na nangangalaga sa kabataan," he adds.

Ipinaglaban at patuloy na itinataguyod ng mga opisyal at empleyado ng @NYCPilipinas ang karapatan at kakayahan ng kabataang makibahagi sa pamamahala, regardless of regime. Huwag nating hayaang madamay at mabahiran ang importanteng institusyong ito na nangangalaga sa kabataan.

— Dingdong Dantes (@iamdongdantes) May 20, 2019

Dantes also raises concern over the possibility that the NYC may have been used by Cardema to have an "unfair advantage" during the campaign.

"Kung may balak siyang maging Congressman noong una pa lang, nararapat lang na nag resign siya bilang NYC Chairman. Pwede bang nagising na lang siya isang araw at nag-decide na trip niya?  Maaari kasing nagamit ang ahensya upang magkaroon siya ng unfair advantage noong kampanya."

Kung may balak siyang maging Congressman noong una pa lang, nararapat lang na nag resign siya bilang NYC Chairman. Pwede bang nagising na lang siya isang araw at nag-decide na trip niya? Maaari kasing nagamit ang ahensya upang magkaroon siya ng unfair advantage noong kampanya.

— Dingdong Dantes (@iamdongdantes) May 20, 2019

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez says the proclamation may be held tomorrow as the poll is only awaiting for results in Isabella where special polls were held.

Comelec spokesman @jabjimenez said proclamation may be held tomorrow as the poll is only awaiting for results in Isabella special polls @PhilstarNews #Election2019 pic.twitter.com/RsK7UCVMB9

— Rosette Adel (@rosette_adel) May 20, 2019

The National Board of Canvassers will resume its session at 1 p.m. today with only five COCs left for tabulation. The COCs are from Washington DC, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Isabela, Philippines where special elections were held after VCMs were set on fire. 

NBOC will resume its session at 1 p.m. Only five COCs from Washington DC, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria are left for tabulation. The NBOC is also waiting COCs from Isabela where special elections is being held after its VCMs were set on fire. #Election2019 pic.twitter.com/7CSX9VueXv

— Rosette Adel (@rosette_adel) May 20, 2019

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers has written the Commission on Elections "to demand" additional compensation for teachers who had to go on extended election duty because of delays in voting brought about by defective SD cards, the group says.

ACT says in a statement that an estimated 10,000 teachers stayed at their posts for more than 24 hours since election day on May 13.

"Teachers had no choice but to stay with the [Vote-Counting Machine]s as votes cannot be counted and results cannot be transmitted without functional SD cards, even if it meant staying at the precincts for two, three days straight. They more than deserve to be given additional compensation at overtime rates,” ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio says.

It says the delays could have been avoided "with Comelec's ample preparation" and adds some teachers will not have much rest since the DepEd's Brigada Eskwela to prepare classrooms for the coming school year start next week. Teachers will also have in-service training after that, ACT says.

On Day 3, a total of 129 out of 167 COCs were canvassed by the NBOC, which suspended session at 9:38 p.m. today. Day 4 of canvassing will start at 10 a.m. tomorrow. 

The NBOC suspends session at 9:38 p.m. They will resume session at 10 a.m. tomorrow. A total of 129 out of 167 COCs were canvassed as of May 16 | via @COMELEC #Election2019 @PhilstarNews

— Rosette Adel (@rosette_adel) May 16, 2019

National Youth Commission Chair Ronald Gian Cardema, who drew flak for his controversial proposal to strip students suspected of links to the leftist movement of government scholarships, filed today an application to substitute for his his wife, Ducielle Marie Suarez Cardema, as nominee of Duterte Youth party-list.

This is according to Kabataan party-list Rep. Sarah Elago.

Duterte Youth is among the frontrunner party-lists in the recently concluded midterm polls.

Elago says the request should be dismissed by Comelec as it is disallowed under the poll body's rules.

Under Section 8 of the Party-list System Act (Republic Act 7941) substitutions can only under the following circumstances:

No change of names or alteration of the order of nominees shall be allowed after the same shall have been submitted to the COMELEC except in cases where the nominee dies, or withdraws in writing, his nomination, becomes incapacitated in which case the name of the substitutes nominee shall be placed last in the list.

Meanwhile, according to Comelec's "Primer on the Party-List System of Representation in the House of Representatives":

A party-list nominee may be substituted only when he dies, or his nomination is withdrawn by the party, or he becomes incapacitated to continue as such, the name of the substitute nominee be placed last in the list of nominees. No substitution shall be allowed by reason of withdrawal after the close of polls.

Under Section 8 of Comelec Resolution 10420 which covers the submission of nominees in the party-list system. It states:

Any person holding a public appointive office or position, including active members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and other officers and employees in government-owned or -controlled corporations, shall be considered ipso facto resigned from the office and must vacate the same at the start of the day of the filing of Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance.

The period of filing the Certificate of Nomination and Certificate of Acceptance of Nomination of Party-lists Groups was from Oct. 1-5, 2018.

Mounting calls for an investigation into "avoidable" glitches the poll body had during the midterm election reach the Senate.

Senate President Tito Sotto and Sen. Win Gatchalian called on the joint oversight committee to look at the reported malfunctioning of hundreds of vote counting machines as well as defective secure digital cards.

"First there were many VCMs and SD cards that were defective. Then there was an issue in the transmission of votes to media partners by the transparency server due to buggy software. There were also cases of malfunctioning voters registration verification machine especially in Maguindanao and Cotabato City," Gatchalian says in a statement.

The Philippine National Police says money for vote buying seized in anti-vote buying operations before and during the midterm election amounted to P12.2 million.

Of the total 449 violators suspected, 356 were accosted, while 85 remained at large. Eight minors involved in vote buying were also rescued.

Re-elected Rep. Joseph Bernos (Abra) vows to initiate a probe in the House of Representatives on alleged partisan acts of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG

Minutes after being officially proclaimed on Tuesday evening at the Provincial Capitol, Rep. Bernos, vice-chairperson of the House committee on Peace and Order said he received information that more than 100 CIDG personnel were conducting “undocumented” and “illegal” activities for the benefit of congressional bet Victoria Seares-Corpus.

Corpus, who ran under Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan, is the wife of Maj. Gen. Amador Corpus, CIDG director.

Rep. Bernos says "we will seek a congressional inquiry, so the truth can be revealed for the people to know."

He says evidence of CIDG involvement at the start of the campaign until election day has been readied by the local Asenso party, which is allied with the Hugpong ng Pagbabago.

"They are tainting the good image of police officers, who were non-partisan," he adds. -- The STAR/Artemio Dumlao

Anti-crime party-list ACT-CIS, backed by broadcaster Erwin Tullfo, is leading the party-list tally by a margin of more than a million votes above progressive group Bayan Muna at second place as of 11:24 p.m. on Tuesday.

The top 10 party-lists so far are:

1. ACT-CIS — 2,562,405
2. BAYAN MUNA — 1,089,892
3. AKO BICOL — 1,031,527
4. CIBAC — 908,218
5. ANG PROBINSYANO — 748,428
6. 1PACMAN — 698,397
7. MARINO — 652,074
8. PROBINSYANO AKO — 616,310
9. SENIOR CITIZENS — 499,285
10. MAGSASAKA — 481,780

There are more faulty SD cards in this year's polls at 1,165 compared to the 2016 elections when only 120 were reported defective, Comelec says.

The number of broken VCMs this year is also greater at 961 compared to the 801 three years ago.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros expressed alarm and disappointment over reports that up to 600 vote counting machines were replaced.

The Commission on Elections maintains that fewer than 1% of all vote counting machines were deemed defective on Election Day.

VP Leni Robredo releases her statement on the 2019 polls.

Election Day boo-boos: The Commission on Election says SD or memory cards were the likely culprit in the malfunctioning of 400 to 600 vote counting machines.

The poll body says some 1,000 cards found defective, reports The STAR's Sheila Crisostomo. (Photo by Miguel de Guzman)

LIVE ELECTION UPDATES:

• Senatorial race
• Metro Manila race

The Comelec's transparency server resumes sending poll results to media and election watchdogs after around seven hours of not transmitting.

The results have jumped from the tens of thousands to millions.

Sen. Cynthia Villar's daughter Camille wins as the representative of Las Piñas City's lone district. 

Incumbent Las Piñas Mayor Imelda Aguilar is re-elected as the city's chief executive. Her daughter April wins as vice mayor.

Isko Moreno defeats incumbent Mayor Joseph "Erap" Estrada in the City of Manila's mayoral race, based on the unofficial count of Comelec.

As of the 10 p.m. partial report of the Board of Canvassers in Makati City, incumbent Mayor Abby Binay (175,385 votes) and her running mate Monique Lagdameo (178,133 votes), who is gunning for vice mayor, are ahead of their rivals.

Junjun Binay who is running against his sister Abby so far got 96,299 votes. His running mate Monsour del Rosario got 102,822 votes so far.

Former Vice President Jejomar Binay (63,014 votes), the clan's patriarch, however, lags behind Kid Peña (68,445 votes) in the city's congressional race.

LOOK | Partial report ng Board of Canvassers sa Makati City as of 10:00pm. Nangunguna si incumbent Mayor Abby Binay at kanyang ka-tandem na si Vice mayoralty candidate Monique Lagdameo.Para sa 1st District ay nangunguna si Kid Peña at si Luis Campos sa 2nd District. @News5AKSYON pic.twitter.com/mW7gZ5jFqp

— Marianne Enriquez (@mariannenriquez) May 13, 2019

Francis Zamora is proclaimed as San Juan City mayor. He is running against Janella Ejercito, daughter of Senate hopeful Jinggoy Estrada.

The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections raised its concern over verified reports submitted by volunteers, some of which could affect the integrity of election results in specific areas. Namfrel deployed 25,000 volunteers nationwide.

Here is a list of incidents reported to Namfrel from violence to vote-buying:

Violence

• Violent incidents were reported in Datu Piang and Matanog in Maguindanao resulting in people being unable to vote and observers being pulled out. 
• In Sulu, violent altercations were reported in Panglima Estino, Patikul, Talipao and Panamao. Reports of altercations between voters were also received from Basilan and Lanao del Sur.

Voter disenfranchisement

• Volunteers in Davao Oriental and Davao Occidental reported that voters just went home when they were unable to locate their precinct numbers, or could not find their names in the precincts where they have previously voted. 
• In Davao, Lanao del Sur, Cagayan de Oro and Basilan, there were reports of failure of the Voter Registration Verification Machines. Electoral Boards reverted computerized voters lists which caused delays in the process and longer queues.

VCM malfunctions

• Vote Counting Machine malfunctions in San Dionisio, Iloilo, and specific clustered precincts in Metro Manila were reported. Electoral Boards reverted to manual voting in these areas. 
• In some precincts, filled out automated ballots were requested to be set aside so they could be fed to and scanned by replacement machines. In many cases, voters would not be around anymore when their votes are finally cast, although they were given the option to wait. 
• VCM malfunction occurred in different forms such as the machine freezing (stopped working), overheating, turning off by themselves, paper jams, valid ballots being rejected and the ballot not fitting the VCM causing a delay in the process. 
• In Dinagat Islands and Surigao del Norte, volunteers reported that there were VCMs that failed to produce voting receipts.
• Namfrel volunteers also reported the lack of some election paraphernalia as well as poor crowd management in many areas.

Unauthorized handling of election materials

• In Santolan Elementary School in Pasig City, political party watchers handled the transfer of filled-out ballots from the precincts to a room on another floor of the school building without the accompaniment of independent election observers.

Vote-buying

• Election day vote-buying were reported in Cagayan de Oro, Lanao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao Occidental and Zamboanga del Norte.

Accessibility

• Volunteers reported that in many areas, Emergency Accessible Polling Places for PWDs, senior citizens and pregnant women were not provided.

A problem in the transparency server is causing a delay in the release of election results, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez revealed.

Despite VCM glitches, Comelec says the midterm polls is "generally successful."

Only 6.8% of voting precincts have closed as of 6 p.m., Comelec says.

Jimenez said that as of 6pm, only 6.8 voting precincts have closed.

This is due to the delays experienced earlier in the day. Jimenez also said that so far, there have been no reports of failure of elections anywhere | @PhilstarNews #Election2019

— Luisa Morales (@mluisamorales_) May 13, 2019

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez explains that the gunshot sound was due to a security guard accidentally firing his firearm. He says it happened during the change of shift between armed security personnel.

Jimenez adds that nobody was hurt by the accidental firing.

Comelec spox James Jimenez holds emergency brief following 'gunshot-like' sound heard here in the Comelec headquarters | @PhilstarNews #Election2019 pic.twitter.com/7mkQPdguYl

— Luisa Morales (@mluisamorales_) May 13, 2019

But Jimenez said that nobody has been hurt nor has anything been damaged because of the accidental firing | @PhilstarNews #Election2019

— Luisa Morales (@mluisamorales_) May 13, 2019

The armed personnel whose gun misfired is still in the custody of the Comelec | @PhilstarNews #Election2019

— Luisa Morales (@mluisamorales_) May 13, 2019

Gunshot-like sound heard at the Comelec headquarters in PICC. A Comelec employee claims a guard may have misfired his gun. Security, however, refuses to answer the media’s queries.

Gunshot-like sound heard at the Comelec headquarters in PICC. A Comelec employee claims a guard may have misfired his gun. Security, however, refuses to answer media’s queries. @PhilstarNews #Election2019 pic.twitter.com/wYwq3gIa6z

— Rosette Adel (@rosette_adel) May 13, 2019

Ambulance siren also heard within the vicinity.

Meanwhile, security officers continue to cover the suspected area where the lone gunshot was heard. @PhilstarNews #Election2019 pic.twitter.com/B3KpfSQWeG

— Rosette Adel (@rosette_adel) May 13, 2019

Partial and unofficial results are in. 

Barry Gutierrez, volunteer-spokesperson of Otso Diretso, says the malfunctioning of 400 to 600 vote counting machines is "unacceptable."

This number is thrice the 188 VCMs replaced in the 2016 elections and is equivalent to an estimated 500,000 potentially disenfranchised voters, he adds in a statement.

"This is only part of a bigger context where Comelec has consistently failed to safeguard the citizens’ right to engage in the electoral process," Guiterrez says.

 
Voting in the Cordillera Administrative Region was generally peaceful, regional police say.

Police Brigadier Gen. Ephraim Dickson, regional director, says that aside from some complaints of vote-counting machine (VCM) malfunctions in Baguio City and other areas, long queues and some incidents involving rival politicians in at least two towns in Abra the elections were peaceful.

But as early as 10 a.m. on Monday, the Regional Emergency Monitoring Action Center of the regional police had recorded at least 35 cases of vote-buying in the highland region:  25 in Abra; six in Kalinga; and two in Baguio City.

Still in Abra, elections elctions had to be stopped temporarily after Bangued mayoralty bet, former Mayor Ryan Luna figured in a physical confrontation with supporters of re-electionist mayor Dominic Valera in front of the polling centers in barangay Patucannay, Bangued. — The STAR/Artemio Dumlao

Copying from a prepared sheet, President Rodrigo Duterte is filling up his ballot in Davao City about an hour before the closing of the polling period.

Duterte over the past months endorsed senatorial candidates running under the banner of ruling party PDP-Laban and regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago that his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara, formed.

The Hugpong, however, is endorsing 13 candidates for a Senate seat. There are only 12 slots in the Upper House for the midterm vote. (screen capture from PTV4)

The Commission on Elections convenes as the National Board of Canvassers in Pasay City a couple of hours before the end of polling day, Philstar.com's Rosette Adel reports.

The NBOC is tasked to count votes for the senatorial and party-list races in the following days.

Sen. Nancy Binay, a reelectionist, expresses concern over the overwhelming reports of malfunctioning vote counting machines and problems in the process of voting.

In a tweet, Binay urges the Commission on Elections en banc to "start investigating" the problems.

"These are things that should not happen anymore now. This is the 4th automated elections!" exclaims former poll body senior official Gregorio Larrazabal on Twitter.

Larrazabal, who served Commission on Elections commissioner, is visibly disappointed over mounting reports of corrupted memory cards, defective vote counting machines and ballots being read incorrectly.

"Now in Makati City, voting stopped because they ran out of felt-tip markers.. How can the Electoral Board run out of felt-tip markers? This is supposed to be a non-issue," Larrazabal writes on the microblogging platform, tagging the official account of Comelec.

PWDs and senior citizens at SSS Elementary School in Marikina are complaining that they were made to sign waivers authorizing other people to drop their ballots for them.

The machines, however, were not malfunctioning to prompt such a move in the polling precinct, Philstar.com's James Relativo reports.

The voters said they did not have to stand in line but are not able to see their receipts to verify their vote.

Random selection of precincts and ballots to be audited is ongoing at the Commission on Elections' national canvassing center in Pasay City.

Representatives from the Philippine Statistics Authority, poll watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and the elections body inspect the equipment to be used to audit the randomly selected ballots. (Report and photo by Luisa Morales)

Senatorial candidates who have voted on Monday morning so far:

• Jinggoy Estrada
• Florin Hilbay
• Willie Ong
• Neri Colmenares
• JV Ejercito
• Grace Poe
• Sonny Angara
• Bato dela Rosa
• Bong Go
• Cynthia Villar
• Mar Roxas

(Photo shows senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares, an incumbent party-list representative, casting his vote in Quezon City.)

After seeing his ballot rejected eight times by the vote counting machine, former vice president Jejomar Binay arrives at the Philippine International Conference Center in Pasay City where the Commission on Elections is holding its national canvassing.

Binay is running for representative in his home turf's first district after failing to secure the presidency in 2016.

His two children, Junjun and Abby, are competing for the mayoral seat in Makati City, while his daughter, Nancy, is running for reelection as senator. (Video by The STAR/Robertzon Ramirez)

Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde reports that 79 incidents of vote buying with 240 alleged violators have been reported. About 230 have been arrested.

Albayalde adds that election-related incidents this year are down by 60% from 2016.

"We are confident the entire process will proceed smoothly and orderly," Albayalde says at a a press conference, as reported by CNN Philippines.

Updates on the conduct of the Philippines' elections.