Comelec’s Inting urges discussion on future use of old VCMs

Elections Commissioner Socorro Inting on Monday called for a discussion on whether it is appropriate to keep utilizing vote counting machines (VCMs) that have been used in previous elections.

During a webinar of the Stratebase Institute, Inting said 97,345 of the 107,345 VCM units used in the 2022 elections were already used in the past two elections.

“I am not in any way prematurely deciding or influencing the policy direction of the Commission on en banc, but I think everyone will agree to a meticulous discussion and review about the propriety of using these VCMs for future elections,” she said.

The Commission on Elections previously said it is keen on disposing of old VCMs amid reports of malfunctions during the conduct of the 2022 elections.

Meanwhile, Inting said issues of paper jams, rejected ballots, scanner malfunctions, and inaccurate printing affected almost 1% of the VCMs used.

“However, it will be unfair on the part of Comelec to be judged over such a minuscule figure or percentage of malfunctioning VCMs,” she said.

“After all, the other side of the coin is the 99% of VCMs which properly functioned. Additionally, as to those that allegedly malfunctioned, rest assured that our field offices,” she added.

Inting said the elections were “generally successful” though it is “far from perfect.” — RSJ, GMA News