ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has replaced one of the Vote Counting Machines (VCM) found to be defective during the final testing and sealing, which started Wednesday in this southern port city.
Lawyer Jan Christian Babiera, second district election officer, said Friday the defective VCM was in one of the polling precincts in Barangay Mampang.
Babiera said the VCM was replaced by another unit, which was taken from the “contingency” VCMs for this city.
“Everything is now functioning,” Babiera said.
The Comelec has allotted 27 contingency VCMs to each of the two districts in this city. The contingency units will replace any VCM that would malfunction on election day.
Meanwhile, Arnan Faustino, first district election officer, said the SD card of one of the Voters’ Registration Verifiable Machine (VRVM) in Sitio Luyahan, Barangay Pasonanca, was found to be defective.
Faustino said they have already referred the problem to the Comelec-central office so that the SD card can be reconfigured. The VRVM is used to verify the biometrics of the voters.
Local Comelec officials are set to finish the final testing and sealing of VCMs on Saturday.
This city, composed of 98 barangays, is divided into two congressional districts.
Comelec data showed the first district, with 37 barangays, has 240,321 registered voters. The remaining 61 barangays of the second district has 227,223 registered voters.
There are six candidates for mayor; three for vice mayor; 32 candidates for councilors in the first district; and, 23 in the second district.
For congressman, there are seven candidates in the first district, and six in the second district. (PNA)
