BBM not spared from vote machine glitch

Even President Marcos was not spared the inconvenience — or frustration — that many Filipino voters probably experienced after a minor technical glitch prevented the automated counting machine (ACM) from taking in the ballot he fed into it.

- By HELEN FLORES

Marcos cast his vote at the Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School in Batac City in his family's bailiwick Ilocos Norte early yesterday.

Live feed from Radio Television Malacañang showed the President's first attempt to feed his ballot failed after it jammed inside the ACM.

Members of the electoral board assisted the President and opened the machine to reclaim the ballot. The personnel then let the President feed it to the ACM for the second time and it was successful.

The 67-year-old Marcos, wearing a light-colored polo shirt, beige pants and a pair of black sneakers, arrived at the school located in Barangay Valdez at 7:08 a.m. The President is a registered voter of Barangay Lacub.

The four clustered precincts at the voting center covered Lacub, Before proceeding to Precinct No. 36-A, Marcos waved to media and greeted them. He was holding what appeared to be a personalized sample ballot.

Asked by reporters about the paper, the President briefly showed it to them saying, "Wala naman surprise dito (No surprise here)." However, upon closer look, what appeared to be a computer printout list included only the names of candidates for local polls.

The President was accompanied by his eldest son, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos; mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos and sister Irene Marcos-Araneta.

The 95-year-old former first lady, who was in a wheelchair, and Irene voted in the same precinct as the President.

Just like an ordinary registered voter, the President lined up and received his ballot from a teacher serving as an election officer, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement.

Marcos completed shading the names of his chosen candidates in about three minutes, after which he pro-| ceeded to the ACM.