VCM Deployment In Comelec Regional Hubs 90 % Complete

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported that 90 percent of the vote counting machines (VCMs) that will be used in the May 9 national and local elections have already been deployed to its regional hubs.

According to Comelec Commissioner Sheriff Abas, chairman of the Comelec – Packing and Shipping Committee, only the VCMs to be used in the National Capital Region (NCR) have yet to be deployed, which are still in their warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

“We are already 90 percent done with deployment. What is remaining are those for NCR, which we hope to deploy before the Final Testing and Sealing (FTS),” he said.

The poll body official noted that the machines were now in the regional hubs and would be transferred to the polling precincts next week, May 2 to 6, in time for the FTS.

“If we do the deployment earlier, we could have problems. We don’t want to compromise the machines,” Abas said.

On the other hand, the poll official said they were half way through the shipment of the official ballots to the city and municipal treasurers nationwide.

Abbas said they started the deployment of ballots in far-flung areas such as the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Batanes, and the rest of Mindanao. It will be followed by regions in the Visayas, Cordillera Administrative Region, and Cagayan Valley.

“We already started last Monday, April 25. So it’s already about four days. We expect to finish around May 4,” he added. (PNA) RMA/FGP/EDS