Top 10 most WTF moments in Elections 2016
Philippines elections 2016 is dubbed as the most peaceful and social media driven elections in history.
The polls never failed to provide entertainment amid the glitches and minimal violence. Below are the top 10 most WTF moments in this year's national and local elections.
Sandro Marcos double voting
The son of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. became an overnight celebrity on Election Day as he allegedly shaded two presidential candidates and the vote counting machine considered his vote as invalid. Thus, the VCM did not count his vote for presidency. Marcos reportedly requested for another ballot, but as per election rules, BEIs cannot issue another ballot unless the error is committed by the BEI.
Sandro also tweeted alleged cheating by posting #DayaangMatuwid. However, the celebrity later deleted the tweet and apologized. Sandro and Mar Roxas’ son, Paulo, are cousins.
Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla heading to jail?
The Teen King and Queen Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla were under fire on May 9 polls when photos of them showing their ballots circulated in social media. The photos were taken by the media covering the event. Netizens are saying that the two broke the Comelec rules that no selfie is allowed in voting precinct. It led to Comelec officers wanting to talk with the two. In the end, the two were not held liable since they were not the one who took the photo.
VCM fails
One of the main reasons of the long lines in voting precincts is the VCM malfunction. Various clustered precincts reported VCMs not working, not having thermal paper, and other issues. In the end, Comelec replaced roughly around 150 VCMs nationwide. The malfunction led to delay in transmission of results.
(Photo credit: Twitter)
Belmonte clan dominates QC
For years, the Belmonte clan has been leading Quezon City. This year, the family managed to secure five seats in the local polls. Joy Belmonte proclaimed as vice mayor of the city after obtaining 733,925 votes. Sonny and Kit Belmonte named as representative of District 4 and 6, respectively. Ollie and Irene Belmonte were proclaimed as councilor of District 1 and 4. Other clans that dominated the city are Castelo and Bautista.
READ ALSO: Presidetial elections in Nigeria
“Dagdag-Bawas”
While the vice presidential race have us holding our breath, there are claims that “dagdag-bawas” is manipulating the results. On May 9, Bongbong Marcos was leading the polls until 11PM. However, people were surprised that Liberal Party vice presidential bet Leni Robredo overtakes the senator. Moreover, supporters of Marcos posted photos as proof that shaving and padding of votes have happened.
Liberal Party’s “Plan B”
Due to Leni Robredo’s recent spike in the polls, people were speculating that Liberal Party’s “Plan B” is in motion. According to Marcos, the party plans to let Robredo win for her to take over when “impeachment” for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte happened.
GMA apologizes for error
Amid the claims that there is cheating happening in the polls, GMA News and Public Affairs issued an apology via Twitter saying that it is a typographical error.
Manny Pacquiao in “Magic 12”
Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao seems to be on his way to the senate. However, not everyone is happy with his win. The boxer and former congressman has no bill passed during his three-year term.
“Trump of the East” Rodrigo Duterte wins
International media has been referring to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as the “Donald Trump of the East”. Duterte was a subject of reports portraying him as a radical candidate that is not ashamed of using violence. If US voted for Trump, people are looking for the state visit of the Philippines in the US.
Alma Moreno’s tweets
Probably, the funniest thing that happened in election is the tweets of Alma Moreno. While the alleged account is not the official Twitter handle of the senatorial candidate, but it did deliver entertainment on a stressful day. The account is now suspended, but see the screen grabs of the tweets below.
Source: KAMI.com.gh
