The Precinct Count Optical Scan machines, official ballots and other election paraphernalia for the towns and cities of Negros Oriental will be sent out May 1 as agreed in a meeting of the provincial Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Council yesterday.

Acting provincial election supervisor Juvenal Tuale said the official ballots will be deployed Wednesday, in the presence of town and city treasurers, representatives of the political parties, candidates, and citizens’ arms.

The official ballots arrived Friday from Bacolod City and are stored in container vans at the provincial hub in Looc, Dumaguete City.

Tuale said that, because of the adoption of the automated elections system, each voter is allocated one ballot only.

Negros Oriental has 722,265 registered voters, and Siquijor province 17,731.

The PCOS machines will be delivered to voting precincts in Negros Oriental May 5. There are 1,076 clustered voting precincts in the province, with one PCOS machine is allocated to each cluster.

On May 6, the PCOS units will be delivered to Siquijor, that has 142 clustered voting precincts, Tuale said.

He also said there is no word yet on the date of arrival of the contingent PCOS machines for Negros Oriental but expressed optimism that they will arrive in time for the May 13 elections.

The final testing and sealing of the PCOS machines is set on May 8.

Present at the PJSCC coordinating conference were officials of the Commission on Elections, the Philippine National Police, Philippine Army, provincial, town and city treasurers, chiefs of police, and representatives of the cargo forwarder, Tuale said.*JFP

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