By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Voters looking to participate in yesterday’s midterm elections encountered technical problems and long queues at several Bacolod City polling precincts.

At Handumanan National High School, voters waited hours to cast their votes after some of the vote counting machines (VCMs) reportedly broke down. While in Barangay Singcang-Airport’s J.R. Torres Elementary School, voters also complained about broken voter registration verification machines (VRVMs) and VCMs, which caused long queues. Some voters claimed to have lined up for at least four hours before voting.

Broken VRVMs were also reported at E. Garcia Elementary School in Barangay Alijis.

In addition, a majority of voters at the Education and Training Center School II, located along Rosario Street, began lining up at 5:00 a.m. with some elderly voters reportedly developing dizziness from the heat.

In the event VRVMs malfunctioned, Board of Elections inspectors would be required to verify registrations manually.

There were also reports of people cutting the line, along with senior citizens opting out of voting due to the long lines and hot temperatures.

Meanwhile, there were also a handful individuals who were unable to find their names on polling precinct lists./DGB, WDJ