PCOS machines for Aklan ready for deployment
BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

KALIBO, Aklan – Argo International Forwarders has assured the delivery of Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines in the polling precincts here.
Ricky Rasgo, provincial coordinator of the forwarding firm, made the assurance of the machine deployment in Aklan in preparation for the May 10 local and national elections. The forwarder is under contract with Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) Corp to deliver the PCOS machines in the Visayas and Mindanao polling precincts in good working condition.
“As far as our tasked to deliver the PCOS, we were able to coordinate the security of the machines with the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. For Aklan, we are waiting for the clearance to deploy the PCOS machines, which are presently stored in a secured area,” he said.
Rasgo said the forwarder and the security personnel are all-out and ready for the scheduled delivery from May 5 to 6 from the regional hub to the municipal level. But, Aklan police provincial director Senior Superintendent Epifanio Bragais, Jr. said the delivery is suspended until further notice.
Under Section 12 of R.A. 9369, the Board of Election Inspectors conducts examination and testing of the PCOS machines and sealing them at least three to seven days before May 10.
However, the poll machine supplier Smartmatic recalled more than 80,000 compact flash cards installed in the PCOS machines after some ‘glitches’ in the testing of the automated machines were noted, prompting the Commission on Elections to suspend the final testing.

The poll body announced on Wednesday the automated elections will push through on May 10 as the Smartmatic started to deliver the new compact flash cards in the provinces.