Zamboanga-bound poll machines earlier reported missing left behind in Laguna

Fourteen automated poll machines to be used in the May polls in Zamboanga City were left behind in the Commission on Elections (Comelec) warehouse in Laguna, a poll official said Friday. The 14 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines were earlier reported missing after an inventory of automated poll machines that reached Zamboanga City last Wednesday yielded only 424 machines, 14 machines short from the total 438 needed in the area. Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal explained that the 14 machines were left behind in the Comelec warehouse in Laguna, and are scheduled to be flown to Zamboanga on Saturday. “When it was brought to our attention, we checked and we found out that these machines are in the Cabuyao warehouse," he told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. Larrazabal said the poll body is still checking on who should be held liable for what happened. The Comelec earlier said that the three forwarders in charge of transporting voting machines around the country — Germalin Enterprises, Ace Logistics and Argo Forwarders — will be held liable if the PCOS machines do not reach their locations on time. More than 76,000 poll machines to be used during the country’s first automated polls in May must reach their designated areas three to seven days before the elections for the testing and sealing. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV