PROTOTYPE COUNTING MACHINES. Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Erwin Garcia (left) demonstrates the prototype of Miru System's automated counting machines (ACMs) for the 2025 national and local elections to a member of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas during the KBP General Membership Meeting in Makati City on Tuesday (May 21, 2024). The Comelec earlier said the first 20 ACMs have passed the hardware acceptance test. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)
MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is preparing for the delivery of another batch of 20,000 automated counting machines (ACMs) from South Korea which is expected in August.
In an interview Tuesday, Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said they are coordinating with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on the arrival of the machines, to be manufactured by service provider South Korean joint venture firm Miru Systems.
“Gusto natin ma-test din ang battery. At sa init sa bansa, kaya ba talaga yung init sa araw ng election? (We would also want to the test the battery to know if it can stand the country's hot weather, can it withstand a hot election day),” Garcia added.
On Tuesday, Garcia led the demonstration of the prototype of Miru's ACMs before members of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP).
The poll body has reported that the 20 ACMs that were initially delivered from South Korea passed the Hardware Acceptance Test (HAT) on Monday, which was held at the poll body's warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
“Na-test na ‘yung hardware pa lang. Later pa papasok ang software (test) (Only the hardware has been tested. The software test would follow later),” he said.
Meanwhile, Garcia defended the poll body's decision to lease ACMs.
"Kung pumalpak ung kumpanya na nabigyan ng award o hindi naging maganda ang performance ng kanilang makina, di na sila makakaulit kasi lease lang. Kapag binili po natin, iwe-warehouse natin, nagbabayad kami ng warehousing fee, tapos ime-maintain mo yan, at the same time iuupgrade mo (If the machines company which bagged the lease contract has a dismal perfromance, it cannot bag another contract anymore because it's only a lease. If we buy these machines, we would place them in a warehouse and we are paying a warehousing fee. At the same time, you have to maintain and upgrade these machines)," he said.
Garcia said they are still paying warehousing fees for the storage of the 80,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines and 97,000 vote counting machines (VCMs) purchased by the poll body and were used in the past polls.
Without divulging further details, he added, the Comelec saved PHP800 million in public funds through the measure.
"Ang ginawa po natin, binundle po namin. 'Yun pong nanalong provider, kanila ang ballot box, kanila ang pen, kanila ang printing ng balota, kanila ung laptops para sa consolidation ng (What we did was we bundled it. They are in charge of the ballot box, the pens, printing of ballots, laptops for the consolidation of) results and such other peripherals. Kanila po lahat (They are in charge of everything), except transmission of the results," he added.
All ACMs to be used for the 2025 midterm elections must undergo stringent accuracy testing, such as the HAT, before they can be officially received by the poll body.
The HAT involves unpacking each box, turning the ACM unit on, and running the different diagnostics to ensure that each and every component is working properly and meets the specifications and customizations as directed by Comelec.
The poll body added the diagnostic test results show that all ACM parts, such as the sensor, touchscreen, scanner, printer, camera, USB ports, LED, external keypad, among others, passed the appropriate criteria for each component during the HAT.
Some 100,000 ACMs will be manufactured by the South Korean firm for next year’s midterm elections. (PNA)
