09 May 2016•Update: 11 May 2016
By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA, the Philippines
Rodrigo Duterte is set to become the first Philippines president from the country's south.
As of 2.40 a.m Tuesday (1840GMT Monday), the Philippines Commission on Elections (Comelec) had the outspoken mayor around 15 percent ahed of his nearest rival.
With 86.79 percent of the nationwide elections returns counted, Duterte was on 14,633,730 votes, incumbent president President Benigno Aquino III's choice Manuel "Mar" Roxas on 8,768,924 votes and Sen. Grace Poe on 8,240,520.
Vice President Jejomar Binay had 4,898,226 and Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago 1,337,293.
In the vice presidential race, Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had 12,798,960 votes and Leni Robredo was a close second with 12,777,952 votes.
Millions of Filipino voters earlier flocked to polling stations, only to be greeted by paper jams, and faulty machines.
GMA News reported the Commission on Elections as preparing a resolution mid-morning to extend the voting period in some polling precincts.
Many of the machines would not accept the ballots fed into them, causing paper jams at several poll precincts in eight of the dozens of schools turned into voting centers in southern Zamboanga City, Brigada News Radio reported.
GMA also received reports of glitches in Isabela City, Basilan province, Romblon, Negros Oriental, Tacloban City, Roxas City, Capiz and Masbate in the central Philippines as well as in several voting centers in Metro Manila.
For every hour that the voting is delayed, another hour will be added to the voting period.
Most of voters had to endure long lines in extreme heat -- temperatures across the archipelago averaged 37 to 38 degrees -- as senior citizens and voters with children were given priority.
In Cebu City, in the country’s central region, a 46-year-old woman died of suspected heat stroke while waiting for her turn to vote, while another voter fainted while waiting her turn.
Authorities had advised voters to bring bottled water to polling stations.
