Comelec to test voting machines in Cebu and Lapu

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will field test today Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) and Canvassing and Consolidating Systems (CCS) machines in the cities of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu.

The PCOS machines will be taken to Camp Lapu-Lapu Elementary School, Basak (Lapu-Lapu) Elementary School, Looc Elementary School and Lahug Elementary School. Mock elections will be held in these schools to see how the machines work.

Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano of the Comelec said they will also be testing the transmission of data from the PCOS machines to CCS machines using Globe and Smart mobile phone networks.

They will simulate the sending of election data from the precinct, to the canvassing center, to the city board of canvassers, to the provincial board of canvassers and to the national board of canvassers.

On the issue about PCOS machines being manipulated to favor certain candidates, Castillano said the claims are baseless.

The Comelec is also set to have the ballots for the May election printed by the end of the month.

Castillano advised those who filed their Certificates of Candidacy to visit their office to verify if there names are entered in the final list of candidates or just to check if the entries are spelled correctly, “just to make sure all the entries in the ballot are free of errors.”/Correspondent Christine Emily L. Pantaleon