MANILA, Philippines ? The remaining poll machines to be used for the May national elections have been assembled and ready for shipment to the country from China, officials said.

A total of 25, 300 precinct count optical scan machines (PCOS) are expected to arrive here from the Qisdi Facility in China on or before February 21, the deadline set for the delivery of the equipment, said Gene Gregorio, spokesman for Smartmatic-Total Information Management.

The Comelec is currently testing the 56,900 machines that were delivered previously, said Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal.

A total of 82, 200 PCOS machines will be used in the first ever automated elections in the country on May10.