Vote-counting machines (VCMs) are equipped with external batteries, contrary to claims that power interruptions make votes susceptible to fraud.
A post of Facebook page BBM Sara President on May 9 falsely suggested that brownouts pave way for election rigging.
The post reads:
“WAG TAYONG MAG PAKA KAMPANTE MGA KA BBM DAHIL DINALA NG INC SI BBM, DAHIL PAG SI LENI DINALA NG MERALCO FINISH NAIsang brownout lang (We should not be confident just because BBM was endorsed by INC because once Leni was endorsed by Meralco, the game is over, it only takes one brownout).”
BBM’s is Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s nickname. INC refers to the religious group Iglesia ni Cristo who endorsed Marcos on May 4.
In a news report, COMELEC Spokesperson James Jimenez said VCMs will not be affected by brownouts. “Yung external batteries ay kasama ng ating VCMs (The external batteries go along with VCMs). We allocated them sa VCM to make sure na in case magkaroon ng problema sa kuryente, mayroong uninterruptable power ‘yung ating VCMs (that there would be ane electricity problem, our VCMs will have uninterruptible power source), which means the VCM will continue operating dahil nga mayroon silang baterya (because they have batteries),” said Jimenez.
Based on the 2019 midterm polls, Jimenez said in a report that the external batteries of the VCMs are good for 16 hours. “If you remember our voting time is 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. And that’s 12 hours. So again, we expect that there will be enough battery power on the entire day.”
The post reached more than 1,200 reactions, 280 comments and 228 shares, as of writing.(KC)