EDITORIAL - Daunting task

The Commission on Elections has been conducting public demonstrations of the Precinct Count Optical Scan machines that will be used in the country’s first fully automated elections. The PCOS machines are simple to operate, and the Comelec has assured the public that in case of mechanical glitches or a blackout, there are batteries and generators for the machines. In a worst-case scenario, the Comelec is prepared to switch to manual voting.

In seeing to it that the machines will perform efficiently, the Comelec must also ensure that these are delivered safely, without tampering, to the polling precincts. The logistics can be daunting. From the Comelec warehouse in Cabuyao, Laguna, 82,000 PCOS machines will be delivered to 76,340 clustered polling precincts throughout the archipelago, the excess to be placed on standby in case certain machines break down. All the machines must be at the designated precincts no later than three days before May 10, election day.

The major logistics companies are not handling the delivery, reportedly because the expected earnings are too small. Instead Smartmatic-TIM, which bagged the automation deal, has contracted three little known companies to deliver the machines: Germalin Enterprises Inc. for Metro Manila, Ace Logistics Inc. for the rest of Luzon, and Argo International Forwarders Inc. for the Visayas and Mindanao. Executives of the three companies, according to reports, are promising not to disappoint the public. Indeed the companies could build their names on the success of this project.

Still, concerns have been raised that unscrupulous elements could take advantage of the limited capabilities of the companies, which are reportedly outsourcing some aspects of the operation. The machines will first be delivered to regional sub-hubs, then to provincial and then city and municipal sub-hubs before finally being brought to the polling precincts.

The machines are precinct-specific; they cannot be operational and will not accept ballots in the wrong precincts, so the forwarding companies cannot afford to make mistakes. If they fail to meet their obligations, they face stiff fines and other penalties, but more than that, it could spell national disaster. For the Comelec, Smartmatic-TIM and the forwarders, failure cannot be an option.