Capiz: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Capiz has completed the final testing and sealing (FTS) of all 773 automated counting machines (ACMs) designated for the province’s clustered precincts ahead of the May 12 national and local elections. Capiz Provincial Election Supervisor, lawyer Salud Milagros Villanueva, confirmed that all machines across 17 local government units passed the testing phase.
According to Philippines News Agency, minor issues, such as screen freezing due to low voltage and misplaced smart cards, were resolved immediately. Villanueva assured, “We successfully opened all 773 clustered precincts. That means we completed the FTS without major issues.”
To ensure seamless operations, Comelec has 116 contingency machines on standby-106 distributed to municipal offices and 10 at the provincial hub. None have been used, which Villanueva said reflects the durability of the ACMs.
Technical support is also in place, with information technology professors tapped by ACM provider Miru, along
side staff from the Department of Information and Communications Taechnology and the Department of Science and Technology, manning the repair hub. “We’re 100 percent ready. We’re just waiting to deploy our ballots to different precincts,” she said.
On Monday, around 539,459 registered voters are expected to cast votes in 773 clustered precincts situated in 468 voting centers in Capiz.