Smartmatic: Repair of old PCOS no longer viable

PCOS machine. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

Poll technology provider Smartmatic-TIM said the refurbishment of the old voting machines was no longer a viable option for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with the May 2016 elections only just a few months away.

At a forum on Wednesday, Smartmatic president for Asia-Pacific Cesar Flores said the Comelec invited the company to a meeting two days ago, where they explained the risks of the two options-the refurbishment of the more than 80,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines or the lease of new optical mark readers (OMRs-in separate quantities of 23,000 and 70,977 units.

Flores said opting for the lease of new OMRs was a “less risky” alternative for both parties since Smartmatic could guarantee to start their delivery as early as November and complete the delivery by end-January next year.

This, he said, will give the Comelec plenty of time to prepare.

“At this point in time, the lease of new machines is the only viable option for us given the timeline that we have,” said Flores. “With the new machines, there are no risks in the timeline.”

Earlier, Comelec chair Andres Bautista said repairing the old PCOS machines, which will cost P3.1 billion, was still the most “cost-effective” solution given the time constraints faced by the election body.

Bautista on Wednesday said the Comelec en banc would meet again Thursday to decided whether it will opt to refurbish the old PCOS machines or lease new OMRs.

“There was a discussion yesterday (Tuesday), which will be continued [today],” Bautista told the Inquirer. “Our inclination is towards a prudent approach,” he said.

Flores said that if the Comelec gives them the green light to repair the old voting machines, they can finish the task between February and March, which was very close to Election Day.

“We consider it a very risky gap, so to speak,” he said.

He also pointed out that the second option, or the use of the new machines, will only need one source code certification since only one type of voting machine will be employed in the upcoming elections.