Philippine Elections 2022: National Search for President during the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic

The United States got to vote last 2020, and its Presidential appointment last 2021, but now, it is time for the Philippines' turn to elect the highest seat in power for its country. Philippine Elections 2022 is happening on May 9, and it is taking place in a country that still has its COVID-19 restrictions and prohibitions set for its citizens.

It might be the same case in the US, but here, people will have less access to vote-counting machines and technology in the country.

Philippine Elections 2022: Voting Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

According to a report by Rappler, the Philippines' Department of Education and its election task force are urging the citizens to follow basic health protocols during this Election Day 2022. Some of the health protocols required from the public are to wear face masks at all times and avoid removing them inside the precinct or public areas.

The public is urged to follow social distancing and have enough space to avoid transmitting the virus from person to person nearby. It is known that polling precincts in the Philippines use public school institutions and other local government properties, known for having a lack of space amidst their locations.

Vote Counting Machines, Setup in the Philippines

The Philippines use Vote Counting Machines (VCMs) to tally their votes, and these are tested several days ago before the May 9 elections. However, for some, it got tested for several hours before the election day on Monday, and it already sent a significant problem for the country.

Not to mention that the Philippines reported cases of the Omicron variant's latest strain to infect its citizens and spread to some parts of the country.

Pandemic and Voting: PH to be the same as the US?

The US Presidential Election faced the pandemic head-on, and it did not stop the country from casting its votes and pushing for a new government amidst the threat of the virus. However, it is not only the virus it faces in its election period. Many threats via the internet and the technology world rose to the occasion, with malware and ransomware.

There have been many suspicions that the US government saw for its national elections last 2020, and months before it took place, the country had already put up precautions and the like to protect its votes. In this age of the internet and interconnectedness, the online world is susceptible to many attacks from different organizations or groups regarding its national day to elect.

Now, the Philippines is in the spotlight to elect its next country leader, and it too faces much misleading information and fake news amidst this pandemic. It has been a problem for many Asian countries during the spread of the virus, with its actions towards it, primarily its vaccination and face mask mandates that are still its concern now.

Vote counting machines are also susceptible to cheating incidents and tampering, with some reports talking about a malfunction in some voting precincts ahead of the election.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Isaiah Richard