P3.3 M allotted for transfer of PCOS machines

MANILA, Philippines -  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has allotted P3.3 million for the transfer of old precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to a new warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

The amount will be used to pay for the service of a trucking company that will transport the 81,896 PCOS machines from Cabuyao to Sta. Rosa.

In an invitation to bid, the poll body’s bids and awards committee (BAC) said 156 trips of 10-wheeler closed vans are needed to complete the transfer.

Each trip will cost at least P10,500 and the Comelec will have to pay insurance amounting to P1.66 million.

The BAC secretariat will accept bids starting today at the Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros, Manila.

James Jimenez, Comelec spokesman said, the poll body decided to transfer the PCOS machines after the lease contract for the Cabuyao warehouse expired.

Jimenez said the PCOS machines would be stored along with the vote counting machines (VCMs) used in the 2016 elections.

After they were used in the 2010 national and local elections, the PCOS machines were kept in the Cabuyao warehouse.

The Comelec is now looking at the possibility of using both the old PCOS and the VCMs in the 2019 elections.