TIME-LAPSE: Leading senators in first 12 hours of results transmission

MANILA, Philippines – At 6:05 pm on Monday, May 13, 15 clustered precincts transmitted the first batch of results of the 2019 midterm elections to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) transparency server, setting off the marathon transmissions of votes.

The first hours of transmissions, however, were not smooth-sailing and were marred by massive delays, technical problems, and a “java error” being pinpointed as causes of tally fluctuation. 

At 6:23 pm on Monday, the Comelec transmitted the first batch of results to various media groups, only to be followed by a 7-hour delay before the next batch got released and published at 1:47 am on May 14. (READ: After 7-hour glitch, Comelec transparency server sends results again)

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At 6:19 am, on Tuesday, May 14, the transmitted results went down from 92.89% to 49.76%. This drop was reported to be a “java error,” referring to the programming language Java. The percentage of transmissions returned to normal at 8:01 am, with 93.45% of precincts transmitting votes. (READ: ‘Java error’ caused tally fluctuation – Comelec)

Transmissions may have been inconsistent, but the top 16 senatorial candidates in the first 12 hours of transmissions remained stable, with little to no changes in their rankings. Majority of them are from the administration slate. 

Below is a time lapse of the first 12 hours of transmissions from the Comelec transparency server. After 12 hours, 93.60% of the total votes were transmitted to the server. These results are partial and unofficial.

Throughout the first 12 hours, the top 6 candidates remained unswayed: Cynthia Villar, Grace Poe, Bong Go, Pia Cayetano, Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, and Edgardo “Sonny” Angara. 

Imee Marcos and Lito Lapid battled it out in the top 7 and 8 positions. Imee started off being in the lead, but Lapid remained glued to the 7th spot in the succeeding hours. Behind them, Francis Tolentino remained in the 9th spot over time. 

The other candidates in the Magic 12 are Nancy Binay, Koko Pimentel, and Bong Revilla, with all 3 consistently switching positions.

JV Ejercito placed 12th twice during transmissions, but he was eventually pushed out by Binay, Pimentel, and Revilla. 

Aquino and Roxas, the strongest candidates from the opposition, did not make it to the top 12. Aquino placed 14th, while Roxas lagged behind at 16th.

As of this writing, a total of 95.17% of precincts accounted for the latest batch of results transmitted at 6:18 pm. – with reports from Yusof Marohombsar/Rappler.com