3.2M undervotes a non-issue – NBOC

An official of the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) dismissed on Thursday allegations of “unusually high” number of undervotes raised by the camp of Sen. Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as the vice-presidential race remains close. Lawyer George Garcia, legal counsel of Marcos, disclosed during the conclusion of Thursday’s canvassing said the undervotes had already totaled  3.2 million. But Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, head of the Senate contingent in the joint canvassing of votes, said the claims of Marcos’ camp remain a “non-issue” to the NBOC since no lawyer has objected on any of the certificates of canvass (COC) included in the official tally. At the second day of the canvassing, lawyers of Marcos frequently noted in each COC the number of undervotes for the vice-presidential post. “The concept of undervotes is always mentioned but the lawyers are not objecting to the inclusion, hence it is clearly a non-issue [...]