For Negros Oriental, Siquijor PCOS machines arrive in Dumaguete

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – More than a thousand Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines intended for Negros Oriental and Siquijor provinces arrived safely in Dumaguete City on Tuesday afternoon from Bacolod City in Negros Occidental.

The convoy consisted of three container vans and two police patrol cars with a total of 18 uniformed security personnel led by Supt. Carlos Lacuesta, chief of the Provincial Public Safety Company of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Negros Oriental.

Lacuesta said the convoy left Bacolod City, taking the shorter route via Kabankalan City and Mabinay town.

The PCOS machines arrived in Dumaguete City where it was received by representatives from 2GO (the official cargo forwarder of the Comelec for the Visayas and Mindanao regions), Dumaguete election officer Jerome Brillantes, and Msgr. Julius Heruela, convenor of the Diocesan Electoral Board of the Dumaguete Diocese and head of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.

The three container vans are now safely stored at the holding area of 2GO in Dumaguete with police and security personnel guarding these round-the-clock.

It was also confirmed by authorities that no ballot boxes were included in yesterday’s delivery. These would follow this week in another convoy, as well as the official ballots, CF cards and other election paraphernalia that will all be delivered by 2GO via Bacolod City, said Brillantes.

One PCOS machine is allocated per clustered voting precinct: Negros Oriental has a total of 1,076 clusters while Siquijor province has 142. (FREEMAN)