43,000 vote-counting machines delivered to Comelec

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday said some 43,000 vote-counting machines (VCMs) were already in the Philippines for the May 2016 national elections.

Comelec said a total of 97,000 VCMS were expected to be delivered by the end of the January and would be configured by February.

The poll body, however, said some 24, 000 VCMs had yet to be released by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Asked why some VCMs were still at BOC, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said it was “subject to discussion” between Comelec Chair Andres Bautista and Customs Chief Alberto Lina.

Jimenez said around 20,944 VCMs were placed at the Comelec warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, adding 19,739 VCMs were already tested and accepted by the poll body.

He said the VCMs were still undergoing hardware acceptance testing.

“They will be tested the way they will operate on Election Day,” he said.

The Comelec said the testing and delivery of the VCMs were still within the poll body’s timeline.

“We are pretty confident that everything will still flow smoothly,” Jimenez said.

The Comelec, meanwhile, announced on Friday that the printing of ballots for the May 2016 elections was moved to Feb. 1 from Jan. 27.

Jimenez said this was to iron out everything before the ballot printing. With a report from Tina Santos, Philippine Daily Inquirer