Group formed to oversee tracking of poll materials

A technical working group has been formed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to plan and oversee the logistics and tracking of the ballots, ballot boxes, and the machines that will be used in the May elections. The group is composed of representatives from the Bureau of Customs (BOC), Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), Department of Finance (DOF), and private companies in the transportation, freight and delivery industries. “Ang purpose nito ay para mailatag natin sa kanila ang ating mga plano sa pag-ship ng iba’t-ibang materyales natin (The purpose of this is to show them our plans in different election materials), and to get their input on it," said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez on Tuesday. The group will have its first meeting on Friday, January 8. DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves have been invited to attend. Representatives from private firms Air21/FedEx, 2Go Cargo, Coltrans, DHL Philippines, LBC Express Inc., Argo Forwarders, Germalin Enterprises, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and the PPCRV have also been invited. Jimenez said they invited these companies to join the technical working group for the purpose of transparency. “It’s very important that these early, we get fresh eyes in our plans para hindi lang kami-kami ang nagpaplano (so that we are not the only ones who plan), we want to get input from everyone," he said. The Comelec had said it would be installing a tracking device on the packets that will be containing the ballots to ensure that the ballots would reach their rightful destinations. Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said a bar code similar to those used by couriers and local and international forwarders would be placed on the packet containing the ballots for tracking purposes. He said that there is a need to determine the location of the ballots while they are being delivered from the National Printing Office to the estimated 74,000 precincts all over the country. Jimenez said a similar code would be installed on the boxes of the 82,200 Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines that will be used in the elections. Since last week, more than 7,000 poll machines have been delivered to the country. The PCOS units are currently being kept in a warehouse in Laguna where they will undergo several tests before the elections. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMANews.TV