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Ex-Comelec exec: P10 billion needed to lease 100K VCMs

Philippines | National

Ex-Comelec exec: P10 billion needed to lease 100K VCMs

By Jel Santos

Around P10 billion is needed to lease about 100,000 vote-counting machines (VCMs), former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner George Erwin M. Garcia said.

Comelec Commissioner George Erwin M. Garcia (JEL SANTOS/MANILA BULLETIN)

During a television interview on Thursday, June 2, Garcia clarified that the P6.7 to P7 billion estimate they mentioned before was a “very conservative estimate.”

He said the poll body can no longer afford to use the old VCMs in the 2025 polls.

“The proper estimate, the right estimate is P10 billion to rent or lease these almost 100,000 machines,” he said.

“We are hoping that our Congress will be willing to invest at least the least of these machines so that we can guarantee that the problems of 2022 will not happen again.”

During the May 2022 polls, Garcia said a total of 1,310 VCMs were replaced after they malfunctioned.

Initially, he said around 1,800 VCMs suffered glitched on Election Day, May 9.

The Comelec noted that 2022 polls’ figures were lower compared to 2019’s elections wherein 1,400 machines malfunctioned.

Related Tags

needed OLD VCMS replace Comelec P10 billion

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