The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) expressed disapproval regarding calls to extend the voting hours amid reports of delayed precinct openings and faulty vote counting machines (VCMs).

COMELEC Commissioner George Garcia said a possible voting extension is unnecessary since the delays were due to power outages which have since been resolved.

“The extension of voting, at this point, is negative. Up until this time, the COMELEC en Banc has decided that voting will be until 7 p.m. Nothing will justify extension of voting at this point.” He said in a press briefing.

“The brownouts in some areas lasted for only about 15 minutes. That’s not that long.” Garcia added.

Garcia also defended COMELEC’s decision to conduct batch feeding of completed ballots due to malfunctioning VCMs for the May 9 polls.

He explained that the decision was a contingency measure earlier suggested by the COMELEC Steering Committee and approved by the COMELEC en Banc.

“If the machines malfunctioned, what do we do? If it will take three hours to repair, does it mean we have to suspend voting for three hours? This is the reason why we have these contingencies so that we can continue voting while machines are undergoing repairs.” Garcia said.

He assured the public that accomplished ballots to be batch fed will be secured and monitored by the precinct’s Electoral Boards.

“There is not a single precinct that will say that the ballots piled up in the desks of the EBs got lost or snatched. This is simply because they are being monitored by the watchers and the citizens’ arm.”He added.

Earlier, the Comelec estimated 2,000 VCMs had malfunctioned, requiring replacement or repair, before the voting period.