All poll machines pass tests with some already awaiting deployment

All voting machines to be used for the Philippines’ first-ever automated elections have passed operational and security tests, the company that supplied the equipment announced on Thursday. Of the 82,200 Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines that have passed hardware stress and volume tests, 4,000 have already been configured for the May polls, Smartmatic Asia President Cesar Flores told reporters. "We have 4,000 machines ready to ship," he told reporters during a visit to their warehouse in Cabuyao, Laguna. Smartmatic-TIM will first deploy the machines to far-flung areas beginning March 15, he said, adding that the equipment will be stored at the Comelec hubs should they arrive at an area earlier than expected. But Flores said that if some parties continue to insist that they reprint the ballots, the configuration of the PCOS machines will also be affected. "Basically we will lose the configuration that we have already done," he said. Earlier, the Liberal Party asked the Comelec to reprint the ballots that bear the name of disqualified Kilusang Bagong Lipunan bet Vetellano Acosta. But Larrazabal had earlier said this task is difficult. "I hope they understand the implications of their proposal," he said. Flores said that the company would have to redo the source code for PCOS and canvassing system and in the process delaying the elections by months. "Changing the ballot face will delay the ballot printing," he said. “We'll have to reprint 13 million ballots which will take about three to four weeks of delay and not only the printing will be affected but also what we're doing here [in Cabuyao]," he said. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV