Comelec urges public to attend the final testing and sealing of VCMs on May 2-7

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday asked the public and political parties to go to precincts nationwide on May 2 to 7 to personally witness the final testing and sealing of vote counting machines (VCMs) that will be used in Eleksyon 2022.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said that during those days, each precinct will be using 10 original ballots for the May 9 polls and visitors may test them themselves.

“Magkakaroon tayo sa lahat ng presinto sa buong Pilipinas ng tinatawag nating final testing and sealing, ‘yung pagsasara ng mga vote counting machines. Ine-enganyo natin ang lahat ng political parties, citizens' arm, mga kababayan nating botante, inyo pong puntahan ang mga presinto sa araw na ‘yan,” he said

(All precincts in the Philippines will have a final testing and sealing or the closure of VCMs. We invite all political parties, citizens' arms, our fellow voters, to please go to the precincts during those days.)

“Ite-test po kasi ang mga vote counting machines. Susubukan ‘yan at kinakailangan lahat po kayo ay makasaksi na ang ipi-print niya muna na resibo ay zero. Kinakailangan niyong makita ang zero dahil ibig sabihin niyan walang laman ang makina dahil zero ang pinrint niya,” he added.

(The VCMs will be tested and you all need to witness that the receipt they will print first shows zero. You need to see that it is zero because that means the machine is empty.)

Garcia explained that volunteers who will participate in the VCMs’ final testing and sealing dates may try to undervote or overvote, shade the ballot incorrectly, and even draw on or tear the ballot to check if the VCMs will accept them.

“Para ma-test natin talaga bang ‘yung balota ko, kinakain ba talaga ‘yan ng machine? Talaga bang ang balota ay tinatanggap, at ‘yung ang boto ko ba ay nabilang nang tama? Doon niyo po makikita para po hindi nagrereklamo,” he said.

(We do this so that you can test if your ballot will really be eaten by the VCM. Will your ballot be accepted, and will your vote be counted correctly? You can see it there for yourselves so you don't have to complain.)

He added that once the VCMs are sealed before the witnesses, representatives from political parties would have to sign a form indicating that the VCMs were not impaired and are ready for the May 9 polls.

The Comelec on Thursday conducted a random manual checking of the official ballots for Eleksyon 2022, allowing several representatives from political parties and election stakeholders to check the quality of the printed ballots.

Last week, Garcia noted that a total of 105,853 ballots that were found with smudges, improper cuts and colors, or unmatched timestamps will be burned in front of candidates, political parties, or their representatives. —KG, GMA News