Transport group Piston raised alarm over election day reports from the Makabayan Coalition citing 29 incidents of vote-counting machine errors and 15 cases of red-tagging as of 10:00 a.m. on May 12.
The reported issues include rejected or mishandled ballots, smudged entries, overvoting, machine failures requiring manual ballot collection, and discrepancies in the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)—all of which cast doubt on the reliability of the automated election system.
Piston also condemned the continued red-tagging of progressive candidates, calling it a form of voter intimidation and a violation of democratic rights.
In light of these concerns, Piston echoed the Makabayan Coalition’s call for a manual count as a safeguard to protect the integrity of the vote, citing repeated technical issues and eroding public trust.
The group urged the Commission on Elections to investigate the incidents and ensure accountability, emphasizing that a credible election requires not only a vote but a trustworthy process.