More than 500 vote-counting machines set to arrive this week

By: Apple Ta-as, Carmel Loise Matus April 27,2016 - 04:04 AM

ONLY 3,543 vote-counting machines (VCMs) out of 4,066 allocated for Cebu province arrived last Monday, the regional Commission on Elections said yesterday.

Comelec Regional Director Jose Nick Mendros said these machines are temporarily stored inside the warehouse of 2GO, a freight company, located in Mandaue City.

Mendros said the other 523 units are expected to arrive this week. “Sa delivery lang yan (It’s only in the delivery),” he said.

Mendros inspected the cargos stored at the warehouse yesterday morning.

He said the boxes containing the VCMs can only be opened during the testing and sealing scheduled on May 5 and 6.

Mendros said only the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) are allowed to open the boxes during the testing and sealing of the machines.

These VCMs will be delivered directly to the polling precincts, Mendros said.

The election officers of the towns and cities of Cebu province will take charge of the distribution of the VCMs on May 2, 3 and 4.

Only the sample ballots have arrived together with the VCMs.

Mendros said the official ballots are expected to arrive on April 29.

But unlike the VCMs, the official ballots will be given to the city and municipal treasurers a day before or on the day of the election. They will distribute the ballots to the BEIs.

Meanwhile, today’s conduct of the local absentee voting will be done manually.

Mendros said participants will only vote for national candidates.

“Their ballots will just be forwarded to the Committee on Absentee Voting in Manila to be opened and counted on election day,” he said.

Those who will vote today will be the policemen, military, members of the Bureau of Jail and Penology (BJMP), and the local media.

For the policemen, the venue will be at their regional office in Camp Sergio Osmeña along Osmeña Boulevard; Central Command headquarters in Lapu-Lapu City for the military; the regional office of BJMP; and the office of Cebu City South District Edwin Cadungog for local media. Voting starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m.

The local absentee voting will be until April 29.

Mendros said those who applied for the local absentee voting are allowed to vote today.

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TAGS: Cebu, Comelec, election, VCMs, voters

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