ILOILO – A total of 24 automated counting machines (ACMs) in this province experienced technical malfunctions on M onday, prompting the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to dispatch contingency machines and conduct on-site repairs to avoid major disruptions.
According to Provincial Election Supervisor Reinier Layson, the malfunctioning machines were reported in Iloilo City and the towns of Carles, Janiuay, Anilao, Tigbauan, Pototan, Miag-ao, Alimodian, Sara, Maasin, Lemery, Dueñas, Lambunao, and Santa Barbara.
“The 24 ACMs that broke down could no longer be fixed on-site, so we had to replace them with contingency units,” Layson said.
The most common issues were scanner and printer failures and paper jams.
Comelec attributed many of these problems to dirt and debris affecting the scanner components, prompting election officers to instruct electoral board members to regularly clean the machines.
Faulty machines were brought to a technical hub located at the Angeles Arcade Building in Iloilo City for repair by Comelec technicians in coordination with Miro Systems — the official ACM provider — as well as personnel from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
“If the machines cannot be repaired immediately, we deploy contingency units to the affected towns,” Layson added, noting that Comelec-Iloilo had 378 backup ACMs in reserve aside from the 2,688 units allocated across the province.
Despite the reported malfunctions, Layson emphasized that these did not cause substantial delays in the election process.
“We have not received any reports of incidents that caused major disruptions. There were minor delays, yes, but nothing that would affect the conduct of the elections,” he said.
He also pointed out that the number of problematic machines was relatively low compared to the total units deployed, calling it a sign of effective systems and responsive technical support.
Unlike in previous elections when defective ACMs had to be transported to Cebu for servicing, each province now has its own designated technical hub to speed up response time.
Iloilo City and province have a combined total of 1,649,730 registered voters, and Comelec expects a turnout of more than 75 percent./PN
