PDP Laban: Delay in release of election returns a breach of public trust
A voter shades the circle of her chosen candidates in this file photo from Comelec – Eastern Visayas
MANILA, Philippines — The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) on Tuesday called the delay in the release of election returns to the transparency server a “breach of public trust.”
Partial and unofficial results started to come in before 8:30 p.m. on Monday evening, nearly an hour and a half after the polls closed.
“Why the delay? This is a breach of public trust,” PDP-Laban said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“Every minute these votes stay hidden, trust erodes. Shouldn’t we demand real-time transparency?”
“Filipinos aren’t asking for special treatment, just the basic right to see their votes counted as they happen, sans filters, delays, and excuses,” the party added
READ: Garcia says no delay in Comelec transmissions: It started after 7 p.m.
For his part, Commission on Elections Chairperson George Garcia said tallies started coming into the Comelec’s servers at 7 p.m.
Garcia added that unlike the Comelec servers, the servers of election watchdogs like the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting “turn their data into a scoreboard.”
