Officials of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday recommended the leasing of new vote counting machines (VCMs) at a cost of P6.7 billion to replace the 13-year-old machines used in the last election.
Facing the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms hearing, Comelec Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan said a total of 97,000 VCMs should be replaced but the poll body failed to do so due to their small budget.
The committee led by Sen. Imee Marcos conducted a hearing to make a general assessment of the last national and local elections.
“I am wondering if you have already computed forward exactly what we should do with the VCMs. We’ve gone through the repairs and so on. Perhaps partial or complete replacement of these VCMs is in order?” Marcos asked.
Commissioner George Garcia recommended that the 97,000 VCMs used in the last election be “retired.”
“It is no longer feasible at this point to use these machines in 2025. These VCMs are too old already,” he said.
Garcia said they would prefer leasing the machines than buying new ones to avoid having to fund their maintenance and proper safekeeping.
“Based on the experience of the Commission on Elections, it’s always leasing the machine that is the best option, not purchasing the machine, simply because we have to rent a warehouse to store the machines and at the same time it’s very difficult to maintain the machines,” he said.
Comelec Executive Director Bartolome Sinocruz Jr. said the government must allot about P70,000 per VCM, which would come up to P6.7 billion for 97,000 machines.
During the May 9 polls, long lines and several cases of malfunctioning VCMs were reported. The VCM issues were flagged by several international observers and election watchdogs.
In the same hearing, Comelec officials proposed a ban on the withdrawal of P500,000 cash from banks, to address the rampant vote-buying during the election period.
Comelec Commissioner Rey Bulay raised the need for policemen and election officers to have access in places where the alleged vote-buying is happening, explaining that they are barred from entering private residences or properties without a search warrant issued by the courts.
He said the lower courts should be included in the inter-agency task force that seeks to deter vote-buying.
Garcia suggested prohibiting cash withdrawals of P500,000 and above at least 10 days before the elections, recalling a Comelec resolution issued during the time of late former Comelec chief Sixto Brillantes.
So far, Garcia said the Comelec’s Task Force Kontra Bigay has received 940 complaints on its Facebook page and 171 in its official e-mail, while the Comelec Law Department has received 105 reports and docketed 12 verified reports.