5,000 ballot boxes arrive from Taiwan

MANILA, Philippines - The ballot boxes to be used for the May 10 elections have started arriving from the factory of Smartmatic International Corp. in Taiwan, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced yesterday.

Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said Smartmatic has already delivered 5,000 ballot boxes.

“We now have 5,000 ballot boxes that arrived and we expect 5,600 more to arrive (today),” Larrazabal told reporters at the PhilPost Distribution Center in Del Pan, Manila where the official ballots are kept.

The Comelec had contracted Smartmatic to produce 77,000 ballot boxes for P243 million.

Larrazabal said the ballot boxes would be tested and sealed and would be delivered to the various election precincts three to seven days before Election Day.

“(Delivery to voting centers) should start mid April,” Larrazabal said.

Smartmatic vice president for Asia Pacific Cesar Flores assured the public that they could deliver all the ballot boxes in time for the May 10 elections.

Flores said their factory could produce some 1,500 polypropylene ballot boxes everyday.

The black ballot boxes have windows to view the ballots inside. They can be secured using four padlocks.

With the automation of the May 10 elections, Flores pointed out the size of the ballot boxes would also eliminate the occurrence of ballot snatching.

“The important thing here is there is no purpose in snatching the ballot (boxes) anymore because the results have already been transmitted. Before the ballots are transported, 30 copies of election returns are already distributed... The ballots become an audit tool, a way to recount and audit,” Flores said.