More than 70,000 clustered precincts have conducted the final testing and sealing of Vote Counting Machines (VCMs) the Commission on Elections said on Thursday, May 5.
According to Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo, head of the steering committee for the May 2022 polls, a total of 70,924 clustered precincts have conducted FTS. This is 67 percent of the total 106,000 plus number of clustered precincts.
In the data he shared, on May 2, a total of 1,329 conducted FTS with 1,299 completed; for May 3, a total of 24,698 conducted FTS with 20,502 completed; for May 4, a total of 21,527 conducted FTS with 19,067 completed; and for May 5, a total of 23,370 conducted FTS with 19,067 completed.
In terms of the VCMs that need to be replaced, he said that the figures are lower compared to 2019. He added that in 2019 on the first day of the FTS, there were already 500 VCMs that needed replacement.
For this election, out of the 70,000 who have already conducted the FTS, only 355 VCMs were found to be defective, which is less than one percent, Casquejo stated. This goes the same for SD card replacement with only 44 needing replacement compared to the 2019 midterm elections which needed at least 1,000 replacements on the first day of the FTS alone.
According to Casquejo, the 355 machines are being fixed in Sta. Rosa. He said that the defects encountered are easy to fix since they are more mechanical.
"I can assure the public na hindi po tayo magkakaroon ng problema sa ating (we will not have problems with) VCMs. Although we only have 1,100 contingency machines but with the rate na nangyayari dito is (that we recorded which is) only 355 or .6 percent, kakayanin nung ating contingency machines (the contingency machines can handle this)," he said.
He added that there are eight VCM repair hubs, which will address all the issues pertaining to the defective VCMs. There are three in Luzon which is in Sta. Rosa, Region 1 and the National Capital Region (NCR); two in Visayas located in Cebu and Tacloban; and three in Mindanao In Davao City, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga.
Meanwhile, Commissioner George Erwin Garcia said that the Department of Energy (DOE) assured them that there will be no power interruptions in the first, second and third week of May since they have stocked up on coal and fuel.