Glitches should not stop people from voting, says Comelec commissioner
At least 328 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines were replaced due to technical glitches as of 11 a.m. Monday, a Smartmatic official reported.
Smartmatic-TIM president Cesar Flores said they replaced the machines due to battery and power failure defects, printing flaws and CF card malfunction.
"As expected, we have cases where we have to replace the machines. A total of 328 reported cases but 239 have already been replaced...all are hardware problems," Flores told reporters at the National Canvassing Center of the Commission on Elections located at the Philippine International Convention Center.
Flores also said some 89 replacement machines were on their way, including one for Tarlac, where presidential candidate Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III experienced a technical glitch after the machine stopped functioning in the middle of reading a ballot.
Comelec commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said that these incidents should not cause alarm since there are 6,000 spare PCOS machines.
"Almost all are working," he added.
"These glitches should not stop people from voting. The procedure is they can continue voting," he said.
"Incidents will continue throughout the day but we are expecting only one percent of replacement [of machines]," he said.
