FINAL TESTING, SEALING. Poll workers do the final testing and sealing of a vote counting machine at the Laoag Central Elementary School on Friday (May 6, 2022). A provincial technical hub was also established to assist poll watchers in case they encounter problems with the use of secure digital or SD cards. (Photo by Leilanie G. Adriano)
LAOAG CITY – Except for some minor glitches and at least one vote counting machine (VCM) in Bacarra town that did not scan the sample election ballots, the final testing and sealing (FTS) of VCMs in Ilocos Norte went smoothly on Friday, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
The FTS involved the end-to-end test of the process, from the initialization of the machines to the voting of 10 people, to the feeding of the accomplished ballots to the VCMs, and until the printing of election returns (ERs).
In Laoag, some election volunteers and village watchmen joined the FTS in various precincts.
As of Friday, Joel Gines, provincial election supervisor of Ilocos Norte, reported that 14 contingency VCMs in the region will be available in case there is a need for replacement.
"The 14 contingency VCMs are expected to arrive this evening in Laoag City,” Gines said, citing that Comelec will be using the same VCMs that were used in previous elections.
For the first time, a provincial technical hub manned by three personnel from the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Information and Communication Technology was established at the Comelec-Ilocos Norte Provincial Office to assist poll workers in case a secure digital (SD) card is found defective.
“We are designated to replace SD cards of VCMs in case these are corrupted during the election process,” Raymond Ardee Soriano, spokesperson of the Provincial Technical Hub, said in an interview.
He said the technical hub in every province nationwide will ensure faster replacement of corrupted SD cards subject to election procedures and guidelines.
“There are 16 main SD cards and 14 back-ups,” he said, citing poll watchers are welcome to monitor the replacement of SD cards.
Ilocos Norte has 822 VCMs that are prepositioned in the 21 towns and 2 cities of Ilocos Norte with 430,000 registered voters. (PNA)
