THE May 12 midterm elections was generally peaceful in Pangasinan, according to authorities, but several technical glitches were reported in different parts of the province causing delays and affected voters.

Most of the problems were attributed to malfunctioning of the automated counting machines (ACMs) from fed ballots not being accepted, receipts showing no names, incorrect candidate names on receipts, and votes being recorded for wrong candidates.

Provincial Election Supervisor Atty. Ericson Oganiza said assigned technicians were able to immediately address the problems and that electoral boards were fully trained to handle these situations.

In Malasiqui, confusion arose at a polling center when incorrect ballots with mismatched candidate names were distributed to voters. Similarly in Bayambang, discrepancies were observed in the candidates printed ballots. These issues were immediately reported to the election officer, Reign Ferrer, who instructed voters to sign the back of their receipts as part of the verification process.

In Mangaldan, an election watcher for a mayoral candidate was reprimanded for assisting a voter, an act strictly prohibited by Commission on Elections regulations. Representatives of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) also reported the incident to the election board, and the watcher apologized after realizing the oversight.

A power outage occurred in the town of Mapandan around 3:00 p.m., lasting for four minutes. Utility firm PANELCO 3 has yet to issue a statement as of press time on the possible cause of the outage.

In Dagupan City, a group was observed distributing candidate flyers near West Central Elementary School, while campaign materials were found scattered inside the Malued Elementary School gymnasium.

Dagupan’s police chief, P/Lt. Col. Brendon Palisoc, reported that their intensified monitoring led to the arrest of seven individuals allegedly involved in vote-buying activities in Barangay Mayombo. There were also reports of vote-buying activities such as the distribution of cards with cash in Barangay Songkoy, Calasiao. These activities were halted after being reported to authorities.

Following the polls, all ballots were promptly transported for canvassing, marking the conclusion of the election process in the province. (Ahikam Pasion)

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