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Youth, activists stage protests at Liwasang Bonifacio alleging election fraud

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA – Students and activists on Tuesday camped out at Liwasang Bonifacio in Ermita to protest what they alleged were incidents fraud and cheating connected to the elections.</p><p>According to group Bayan Muna-Southern Tagalog, its members will try to sustain protests until the Commission on Elections explained the validity of the votes despite the number of vote-counting machines (VCMs) that broke down, and its alleged inaction against vote-buying.</p><p>The group’s spokesperson, Casey Anne Cruz, said the group will file a formal complaint against Comelec once it has fully documented the cases of faulty VCMs.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Students and activists from Bayan Muna Southern Tagalog camp out in Liwasang Bonifacio. They’re protesting the incidences of alleged fraud and cheating in the elections. <a href="https://t.co/CQZmCAbaqb">pic.twitter.com/CQZmCAbaqb</a></p>— Niko Baua (@Nikobaua) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nikobaua/status/1524023443301502976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2022</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>During the rally, random people gave out food and water to the protesters.</p><p>Activists and youth groups had called to take to the streets, as Ferdinand &quot;Bongbong&quot; Marcos Jr. held a sizable lead in the presidential elections, based on the partial and unofficial results of the poll body&#x27;s canvassing.</p><p>On Monday, there were multiple reports of defective VCMs, alleged ballot-snatching in some provinces, and allegations of voters being asked to leave their ballots at the precinct. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/09/22/over-500-vcms-reported-defective-says-comelec">Over 500 VCMs reported defective, says Comelec</a></li></ul><p>The prospect of Marcos moving back into Malacañang has alarmed rights activists, church leaders and political analysts, who fear he would rule &quot;without constraint.&quot;</p><p>The presidential candidate and his family were chased into US exile after Marcos Sr. was deposed following a decades-long rule marred by human rights abuses, killings, and corruption.</p><p>As of 9:47 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, Marcos had 31,048,319 votes. His closest rival, Vice President Leni Robredo, had 14,798,295, based on the Comelec&#x27;s partial and unofficial results of canvassed votes.</p><p>Despite Marcos&#x27; considerable lead, Robredo, the face of the opposition, has not bowed out of the presidential race, as of writing, but read a statement early Tuesday calling for calm.</p><p>Her camp said it is seeking the help of experts in looking at the allegations of poll irregularities. <strong>– With a report from Niko Baua, ABS-CBN News</strong></p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2030795" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Bayan Muna-Southern Tagalog said the group will file a formal complaint against Comelec once it has fully documented the cases of faulty VCMs.