The Commission on Elections in the Negros Island Region (Comelec-NIR) is ready for the delivery of thousands of automated counting machines (ACMs) that would be used in the May 12 midterm elections.
Comelec-NIR assistant regional director Jossil Macute said on Monday, March 31, that the hubs where the ACMs will be stored upon arrival next month have already been identified.
“The official cargo forwarder of the ACMs is closely coordinating with the Comelec and we have identified the hubs where these units are to be stored until they are delivered to the different local government units in the NIR,” Macute said.
The ACMs, to be shipped via a commercial vessel, are expected to arrive on April 17. They will be stored at the holding areas until delivery to the LGUs a few days before the May 12 midterm elections for the final testing and counting.
Macute said Negros Occidental will receive 2,484 ACMs; Negros Oriental, 1,289; and Siquijor, 149.
The number of machines is equivalent to the number of clustered precincts, he added.
Some 50 to 70 additional ACMs are also allocated for NIR as a contingency in case some units break down.
ACMs intended for Canlaon City and other LGUs in Negros Occidental that are threatened by a possible eruption of Mt. Kanlaon will also be delivered within the same time frame, Macute said.
The Office of Civil Defense and the Comelec have already mapped out a contingency plan in the event of an Alert Level 4 scenario on election day or ahead of it, he pointed out.
Macute reassured that elections would push through in these areas even in the event of another eruption as government authorities are already anticipating a worst-case scenario.*PNA