Praying for machines to work

Leora P. Ferry

ICT coordinator

J. Zamora Elementary School

I expected the usual—to serve in the elections, as mandated by law—since I am a public school teacher.

I have served as chair, poll clerk and member. But this year was quite a journey for me. My school principal recommended me to serve as a PCOS (precinct count optical scan) technician.

We both expected that I would be assigned to our school but I was assigned instead to Bagong Barangay Elementary School, which I felt was a blessing in disguise.

Everyone’s first time is normally filled with jitters. That was especially true for me in my new task. As I completed the training, I realized constant updates and careful assessment of the situation would make this new challenge a lot more bearable.

PCOS technicians differed from board of election inspectors (BEI) officers in that we were the eyes and ears of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the machines. Any troubleshooting was subject to the approval and recommendation of higher authorities.

As PCOS technicians, we prayed fervently that the machines would perform their functions well.

My baptism of fire came in different forms. One BEI chair did not want to follow the instruction of my Comelec supervisor. Luckily, the nontransmittal was deemed unimportant.

My major crisis came with the automatic shutdown of the PCOS machine in one precinct right before voting closed. Watchers and BEI officers expected me to “fix” the problem.

I had to make a decision since my supervisor was already flooded with concerns and could not address the problem right away. Everyone agreed to bring the main memory card to Ninoy Aquino Stadium, where the official counting was done for Manila.

Thank God, Comelec officers were there to assist us. Unfortunately, the compact flash card was corrupted and had to be returned to the factory in Cabuyao, Laguna.

This was not the first time I served in the elections for more than 25 hours but, with the pressure and the expectations of many election participants, this one drained my energy and taxed my patience and self-control the most.

The remuneration we receive for election duty is never enough for all the sacrifices we make.