Manila, May 12 -- The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) has received reports that some automated counting machines are tallying votes due to smudges or stray marks, following a change in the vote-reading sensitivity for the 2025 elections.

In a media briefing at the election watchdog's headquarters in Manila on Monday, PPCRV spokesperson Ana Singson reminded voters to handle their ballots carefully and inspect them thoroughly before submission, citing that vote threshold for counting ovals has been lowered from 25 percent to 15 percent.

"Please be very careful when handling. Please be very careful that you don't put any marks, and please before you accept your ballots make sure there are no marks, even a small dot, ...