DAGUPAN CITY (PIA) — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) assured the public of its commitment to transparency by providing opportunities for media practitioners, the Department of Education (DepEd), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and other government agencies to observe the operation of the automated counting machines (ACM) ahead of the 2025 polls.
Lawyer Noli Pipo, regional director of Comelec-Region 1, said this initiative aims to ensure that the machines are transparent, reliable, and accurate in counting ballots.
The testing will also identify any potential glitches and provide election officials with hands-on experience using the machines effectively.
The ACM technology includes a paper ballot, optical scanner, audit trail, voter receipt, audit log, final testing, sealing, and automatic transmission of results.
These advanced machines come with improved features such as an installed camera and a manual audit function that displays results for 20 seconds.
Pipo said before the mock testing in Region 1, Comelec officials will undergo roadshow training from November 19–22, 2024, to ensure that the machines are functioning properly and to train election officials on proper usage for the upcoming election.
According to Comelec statistics on registered voters, as of 2024, Pangasinan has 2,170,694 registered voters, La Union has 557,617, Ilocos Sur has 488,800, and Ilocos Norte has 436,909, bringing the total number of registered voters across the region to 3,654,420.
There are exactly 5,000 ACMs available, with 2,500 stationed in La Union and 2,500 in Pangasinan.
During the election process, Comelec will distribute one machine per municipality across four provinces, excluding the provincial office.
“Ang inyong Comelec ay ginagawa ang lahat ng paraan para ang ating proseso sa halalan ay maging convenient. We hope and pray na sa sana itong makina ay matibay, reliable, walang masyadong glitches at accurate,” Pipo said.
(Your Comelec is working hard to make our voting process as easy as possible. We hope and pray that this voting machine is durable, reliable, glitch-free, and produces accurate results.)
Lawyer Reddy Balarbar, assistant regional director of Comelec-Region 1, said during the Regional Peace and Order Council Meeting on November 15 that there are 14,405 established precincts, 1,204 voting centers, and 8,607 electoral boards in Pangasinan.
In a separate interview, Atty. Ericson Oganiza, Pangasinan provincial election supervisor, emphasized that they will visit all the barangays of each city and municipality in Pangasinan to conduct trials with the new ACMs.
“Pupuntahan natin ang lahat ng barangay sa mga city and municipality at may naka-allocate na machine diyan na iikot sa barangay para maexperience ng mga botante iyong paggamit ng ACM,” Oganiza added.
(We will visit every barangay in all cities and municipalities. There will be dedicated voting machines stationed in each barangay for voters to experience using the ACM.) (AMB/RPM/KLTD/PIA Pangasinan)
