Election inspectors to undergo training

CEBU, Philippines - All is set for the training of all Board of Election Inspectors in the Province of Cebu as part of the preparation for the May 2013 elections.

Last Monday, 156 Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines were delivered to the Office of the Provincial Election Supervisor.

These machines will be used in the BEI training that will start on March 8 until March 20.

There will be four separate training centers in Cebu, said Atty. Ferdinand Gujilde of the Comelec Provincial Office.

BEIs to be detailed in the northern part of Cebu will have their training at Estaka Beach Resort in Compostela while VillaTeresita in Talisay City will be the venue of the training for those who will be serving the southern areas.

For BEIs who will be serving the 6th district and other areas like Balamban and Asturias, they will be trained in Alta Gardens in Cordova.

Cebu City BEIs will have their training in the city.

Gujilde said, the whole province has around 9,000 BEIs.  They are all teachers from the Department of Education who will undergo general training for the final testing and sealing day and for the voting and transmission on election day.

The training is only for a day but the teachers will be given the whole night to be familiar with PCOS, which will be tested the following day by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) accreditors.

Gujilde said that to become a BEI, a teacher must be IT-capable and duly certified by DOST.

But he explained that in each clustered precinct where there are three BEIs, only one is DOST accredited.

Only the chairman and the poll officer are needed to attend the training.

After the training, the 156 PCOS machines will be returned to Comelec Central Office for reconfiguration.

The 3,169 PCOS machines for the Province of Cebu are expected to arrive a week before May 13.  — /MBG (FREEMAN)