95% of PCOS machines pulled out from Metro

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday at least 7,209 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines or 95.4 percent of the 7,555 sent to 743 polling centers in Metro Manila have been pulled out and returned to the warehouse of Smartmatic, which leased the machines to the government.

Comelec-National Capital Region head Michael Dioneda said only 346 machines have yet to be returned: 167 from Caloocan, 23 from Pasay, 65 from Taguig, 90 from Muntinlupa and one “defective” machine from Parañaque.

Dioneda said all the winning mayoral, vice mayor and congressional bets in 16 cities and a municipality in Metro Manila have been proclaimed as of Thursday night.

“The canvassing of votes for councilors in several areas of Metro Manila are ongoing and we expect to finish the process before nightfall,” said Dioneda in an interview.

The Comelec official said he is now in the process of paying the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) their P4,300 allowance before he could declare that the political exercise in the metropolis is over.

“There are some pockets of resistance from several losing candidates but overall the May 10 elections in Metro Manila was generally peaceful,” Dioneda told The STAR. “We are now in the homestretch of our election duties.”

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Roberto Rosales said all the PCOS machines in Marikina, Pasig, Mandaluyong, San Juan and Las Piñas and Pateros have already been retrieved and delivered to the Smartmatic warehouse in Cabuyao, Laguna.

“There is still an ongoing canvassing of votes for councilor in Caloocan City so the retrieval of PCOS machines in the area would be delayed for a little while,” said Rosales.

He clarified that there is no need for Chief Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao, director of the Southern Police District (SPD) to deploy augmentation forces in Caloocan City as the seat for councilor is not “hotly contested.”

Rosales is hoping that all PCOS machines would be accounted for and returned to Smartmatic by this weekend so he could declare that the situation in Metro Manila is “back to normal.”

There are several losing candidates who claimed that their rivals cheated but Rosales said “they should bring their cases before proper forum.”