The Commission on Elections (Comelec) begins refurbishments and repairs of the vote-counting machines (VCMs) that will be used for the national and local elections in 2022.
These VCMs the Comelec bought from Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) were already used in the 2016 and 2019 elections.
“Maraming mga aktibidad ang dapat gawin tulad ng pagpalit ng baterya, ng lahat ng mga makina, at paglilinis sa loob at labas ng mga ito,” Comelec Chairperson Atty. Sheriff Abas said during their inspection in Sta. Rosa, Laguna on Tuesday (Sept. 14).
He added that it is important to run a diagnostic test in each VCM to ensure that every machine is in good working condition.
Moreover, Comelec Steering Committee Chair Commissioner Marlon Casquejo said that more than P660 million was allotted for the VCM refurbishment.
Each machine repair costs about P7,000.
Based on data from Comelec, some 36,239 VCMs have already been refurbished, while the other 97,345 are up for refurbishment. – Report from Kenneth Paciente / CF – rir
