Comelec seeks reuse of old PCOS

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is holding talks with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for the possible reuse of a number of old precinct count optical scan  machines to augment the 91,000 new voting machines in the 2016 elections.

      

Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said they will be cleaning and assessing between 5,000 to 10,000 machines used in the 2010 and 2013 elections.

      

The old PCOS machines are stored in a warehouse in Laguna.

      

Guanzon said they have consulted with the DOST on where to source locally the basic parts that would need to be replaced.

      

These machines will then be used mainly by persons with disabilities (PWDs) and absentee voters locally and possibly overseas.

      

"We estimate that with two hours per machine, one worker will be able to finish four machines in an eight-hour shift. But if we will do two shifts per day it will be much faster. Once materials are available, in three weeks we can clean 5,000 machines," Guanzon said.

      

As to why the Comelec did not consider an in-house team to refurbish the 82,000 old voting machines instead of buying new ones, Guanzon said this was because they have limited time and resources. –End-

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