PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — Election in this city and the rest of Palawan began at 5 a.m. Monday, but several technical issues involving automated counting machines (ACM) were immediately reported in multiple precincts, delaying the process for some voters.

At Mateo Jagmis Elementary School in Barangay San Miguel, Puerto Princesa, volunteers from the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) recorded three separate ACM glitches.

“Around 5:45 a.m., a ballot was rejected. Then at 6:32 a.m., another ballot was also rejected. Around 6:37 a.m., it happened again — but it was fixed right away,” a PPCRV volunteer said.

A similar issue occurred at Cluster 133 of Francisco Ubay Memorial Elementary School in Barangay San Jose, also in the city, where a machine malfunctioned three times. A voter there said the glitches caused a delay in the line.

“It took a while for the line to move because the ACM kept having problems,” the voter said.

In Narra town, an ACM at Cluster 3, Precinct 9A of Narra Pilot School also experienced three consecutive glitches.

Precinct officials said the problem was due to a dirty machine and a lack of paper. The issue was also addressed immediately, and the machine resumed operation at 8:59 a.m.

In Roxas, northern Palawan, a senior citizen’s ballot was stained by leaking ink while the ACM was printing the voter’s receipt. Voting was temporarily halted until the scanner plate was cleaned.

Commission on Elections Chairman George Erwin Garcia had earlier acknowledged the possibility of minor glitches such as ballot rejections or scanning errors, but emphasized that the machines are certified, secure and accurate.

Meanwhile, some voters reported delays in locating their precincts despite the inclusion of photos in the Certified Voters’ List (CVL), a new feature for the 2025 elections.

The CVL posted outside precincts now includes each voter’s name, precinct number and photo taken during biometric registration.