MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, May 23 (PIA) --- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is ready and prepared for the conduct of elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on August 8, 2011.
“As of this point in time, we could say that we are very much ready for the elections using the same technology used during the May 2010 national and local elections,” said Atty. Ray Sumalipao, Director of Comelec-ARMM.
He said the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines will be re-used in the upcoming elections but with some innovations to respond to the shortcomings encountered during the May 2010 elections.
“At least now, we are aware of the problems and we already put in place the necessary measures to counter such problems come August 8,” he added.
Sumalipao cited the number of registered voters’ casting votes in one (1) PCOS machine was one of the prominent problems during the May 10 elections.
He said during the May 10 elections, a maximum of 1,000 registered voters cast their votes in one (1) PCOS machine while this coming ARMM election only 600 registered voters will be casting their votes per PCOS machine.
Noting that few positions are at stake in ARMM elections, he is also confident that delays and crowding can certainly be avoided.
The Comelec-ARMM Director, meantime, disclosed that the last day to constitute members of board of election inspectors (BEIs) shall be on May 25, 2011.
He said they will be using the same BEIs who served during the May 10 elections due to the fact that most of them or majority of them or at least two of the members in each board were already certified by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
“We are pretty sure that they are already knowledgeable of the operations of the PCOS machines and familiar with the technology but they will still go through the process of training and they will be certified again by the DOST,” he further said. (PIA10)
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