Presidential, VP bets invited to inspect ballots, poll machines

Presidential and vice presidential candidates have been invited to inspect the ballots and machines that will be used in the May 10 automated elections. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it extended the invitation so that the candidates could see for themselves the preparations being made for the polls. At a press briefing Monday, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said they invited the candidates to visit the National Printing Office in Quezon City (NPO) where the ballots are being printed, and Smartmatic-TIM’s warehouse in Cabuyao, Laguna where the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines units are being stored. “Letters have been sent for all presidential and vice presidential candidates to join Comelec and inspect the facilities, so they may be informed on the preparations [for the elections]," said Larrazabal, adding that they scheduled the inspection on March 11. Larrazabal said that the move was an initiative of the commission to “enlighten" the candidates about what’s being done to ensure the “security and sanctity" of the elections. “I’m sure some of them might have questions. It’s really different if you see the actual preparations being taken as compared to just basing it on television," he said. Members of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Automated Elections had earlier been invited to the NPO and Cabuyao facilities, but only four showed up. Smartmatic-TIM said that all the 82,200 poll machines needed for the May polls have already been delivered in the country. The NPO, on the other hand, showed that 6,037,038 of the more than 50 million ballots have already been printed by the Comelec. The ballots will be kept at the NPO until they have to be shipped out by April 25. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMANews.TV