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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Comelec eyes renting of VCMS for 2025 midterm polls

Comelec eyes renting of VCMS for 2025 midterm polls

Published Sep 1, 2022 05:44 pm

For Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia, it would be cheaper if the poll body would just rent vote-counting machines (VCMs) instead of buying new ones for use in the 2025 midterm elections.

Teachers acting as members of the electoral board conduct the final testing and sealing of vote counting machines (VCMs) at the San Juan Elementary School as witnessed by Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan in San Juan City on May 3 2022, less than a week before the 2022 national and local elections. (Noel B. Pabalate)

“Mas mura po ‘yun hindi kami magwawarehouse hindi kami magmamaintain and siguradong mas bago ang papagamit natin (That would be cheaper, it won't be us who will warehouse it and maintain it and it will surely be new),” he said during a radio interview on Teleradyo.

In May, Commissioner Marlon Casquejo stated that the VCMs used during the recent elections will no longer be used for the next elections in 2025 and the succeeding ones.

Casquejo mentioned that they are not sure of the machines' capability after the elections if they can be used for other things such as scanning such as in Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) exams.

It may be used in other agencies, according to Casquejo, but no longer for Comelec.

According to Garcia, Comelec's over 90,000 VCMs that have been through several elections will no longer be completely accurate.

"Sa akin pong assessment kahit di po ako eksperto ‘yun pong aming 90,000 machines, na ilang elections na po ang pagsisilbi mga tatlong elections na po sa aming palagay po medyo hindi na po ganoong ka-accurate o kabisa o kagaling ang kaniyang performance kung ito'y gagamitin sa 2025 elections (In my assessment, and I'm no expert, these 90,000 machines that went through three elections based on our calculations, its performance are no longer that accurate or effective if it will be used in the 2025 elections)," he added.

In case Comelec does opt to rent out machines, Garcia said that the 90,000 others will be used as backup machines for every precinct.

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