ILOILO City – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Western Visayas expects the arrival of official ballots and Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) to be used in the May 12 midterm elections on or before Holy Week, according to regional director Atty. Dennis Ausan.
While a tentative delivery schedule has already been set, Ausan declined to disclose the exact dates. However, he said the latest possible arrival would be before Holy Week, depending on shipping schedules.
“It all depends on the shipping route and vessel schedules,” Ausan said.
He stressed the need for early delivery to allow for the final testing and sealing of the machines, which is scheduled from May 2 to 7.
“The machines should arrive before May 2 so that they can be deployed to various voting centers across the region,” he added.
Each clustered precinct will receive one ACM, which is programmed to read only the ballots designated for its specific polling place.
“We have one machine per clustered precinct, and both the machine and ballots are precinct-specific. If the designated ballots run out, you can’t use ballots from another precinct because the machine will reject them,” Ausan explained.
To ensure quick response to technical issues, Comelec will establish technical hubs in every province in the region for this year’s elections — a move away from the previous practice of relying solely on a central hub in Cebu City.
During the 2022 elections, machines requiring repair had to be shipped to Cebu, causing delays in the ballot counting process.
These provincial technical hubs will be managed by Comelec-trained IT experts and personnel to guarantee immediate repairs. Should a machine be deemed irreparable, Ausan said contingency units from the Comelec Central Office will be dispatched. However, the number of backup units allocated for Region 6 has yet to be confirmed.
Aside from ballots and machines, non-accountable election materials such as ballot boxes have already arrived at the regional office.
Western Visayas, which includes the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo, has a total of 3,128,562 registered voters:
* Aklan – 414,890
* Antique – 399,553
* Capiz – 539,553
* Guimaras – 124,930
* Iloilo – 1,649,730
The region comprises 3,389 barangays, 20,077 established precincts, and 2,854 voting centers./PN
