Bautista admits Comelec still behind May 9 polls timeline

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista on Friday admitted that the poll body is still trailing behind the timeline in preparations for the May 9 local and national elections.

"Yes, we are still trailing. But we are just continuing with our preparations. We don't want to rush because the more you rush, the more you may commit mistakes," Bautista told reporters as the poll body kicked off its 100-day countdown to the May 9 elections.

Bautista said that the Comelec is still behind its timeline for:

•     printing of ballots
•     final list of candidates
•     source code certification
•     holding of mock elections

The poll chief, however, assured that the automated elections will push through despite the challenges.

"We now have a good momentum. We can catch-up with our timetable," he added.

VCM testing

The poll body has begun conducting field-testing of the vote counting machines (VCMs) in 32 public schools in the country as part of its preparations.

The testing includes the setup of the machines in the polling centers and the use of the PIN in the machines.

"I received reports that the testing went on smoothly," he said in a press briefing at the Comelec warehouse in Santa Rosa, Laguna on Friday.

"Nandito na ang 64,824 machines sa warehouse," he added.

Transmission testing of the VCMs will be conducted before February 13, when mock polls in 30 areas around the country are scheduled.

Earlier, Comelec said it was expecting 93,977 VCMs, which they initially leased, to be in the country by end of January.

The VCMs are manufactured in Taiwan by Smartmatic Corp.

In November, the poll body exercised the provision in its contract for a repeat order, when it asked for additional 3,540 units to be delivered around in March. 

P69 million a year

Comelec took GMA News on a tour of its facility, located in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, which includes a room for the server that will run the automated polls and a warehouse where the VCMs are being kept.

It is being rented by the Comelec for P69 million a year.

Comelec Commissioner and Steering Committee head Christian Robert Lim told GMA News that the facility is where all the action will happen in the run-up to the polls.

Starting March, the Comelec will deliver the VCMs to regional drop-off points before the machines are transported to municipalities and cities all over the country for the May elections.

Nearly 2,000 workers are employed either by elections technology provider Smartmatic and the Comelec.

The VCMs are delivered and stored in the facility before the distribution to the cities and municipalities. —with Joseph Morong/ALG/JST, GMA News