The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in Palawan is targeting a 100 percent transmission of election results on May 13 national and local elections.
Jomel Ordas, the spokesperson of the provincial COMELEC, said they have already tested all 950 Vote Counting Machines (VCMs) distributed to 950 clustered precincts across the province.
“Target natin ay 100 percent transmission ng election results. Tingin ko naman kakayanin kumpara last year ay maayos naman, wala naman tayo naging problema,” he said.
Ordas said the final testing and sealing that was conducted on May 7 was 98 percent successful despite encountering technical problems in VCMs and SD cards.
He said there were five defective VCMs and six SD cards that were replaced with new ones.
He added there are 100 contingency VCMs for the entire Palawan ready to replace defective VCM units.
“Sa 950 VCMs na ‘yan nagkaroon tayo ng at least lima na nagkaproblema at siguro mga anim na SD card din ang nagkaroon ng problema. ‘Yong mga VCMs ay nasolusyunan na natin ‘yon, hindi lang gumana ang iba. Tinitingnan pa rin naman ‘yan kung maayos pa pero kung hindi na talaga ay gagamit na tayo ng contingency VCM with approval ng National Technical Support Group (NTSG),” he pointed out.
Ordas also said they are confident that there will be no problem with the VCMs on election day, but they will be ready for possible problems.
“Wala naman sigurong magiging problema during election day kasi nagfinal testing and sealing na. Ang purpose naman kasi nyan ay para makita kung ano ang may mga problema kaya mabuti naman at nalaman natin na may ilan pa rin na may problema. Pero may nakahanda naman kaming measure in case may mangyari kasi mahirap naman mapredict ang mga mangyayari,” he said.
Ordas said the poll body is all set for the election day with the complete delivery of election paraphernalia to all the 23 municipalities.
“Ready na tayo para Monday, all set na. Na-distribute na rin natin lahat ng materials para sa election,” he said.
He said voting will officially open exactly 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. while voting for Person Deprived by Law (PDL) will start at 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. which inmates only allowed to vote national candidates.
Palawan has a total of 677,185 registered voters, including Puerto Princesa City which has 153, 871 voters.
Ordas also advised voters to check their precinct number as early as possible to avoid problems.
He said that voters may also ask assistance from the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) assistance desks to find their names and precinct number.
“Unang-una pwede nilang i-verifyy mismo sa COMELEC kasi may deadline naman kami ng posting nyan. Ang iba naman na electoral board ay nagpo-post kaagad ng mga list of voters sa labas ng mga presinto. Kaya ang advise natin mas maganda na ma-verify agad natin bago pa magbotohan. Pero kung may iba talaga na botohan na bago pa maghahanap ay pwede sila lumapit sa PPCRV,” he added.
