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Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Marlon Casquejo on Monday said 80% of the vote-counting machines to be use in May 2022 national and local elections completed refurbishing

“As to the TOR, ‘yung final delivering nila is November 15, dapat tapos na sila. According to their records is nasa 80% na po so aabot tayo and ito pong refurbished machines natin, that is already enough for a 1,000 voter cluster precincts so that is why we need to have additional 10,000 to lower it to 800 voter cluster precincts,” Casquejo said.

During the Senate deliberation on the proposed P26.728 billion budget of the Comelec, Senator Risa Hontiveros asked for an update on the P637.4-million deal for the poll technology provider Smartmatic to refurbish vote-counting machines for the coming elections.

“‘Yung refurbishment po natin wala po tayong problema doon, ongoing, around 80% so iilan na lang po ‘yung hindi pa na-refurbish,” he added.

In May of this year, Smartmatic secured a P402.7-million contract to provide software that will be used in the May 2022 automated elections.

The Comelec said the company won the contract through an open bidding process.

Smartmatic has been the country’s poll technology provider since the Philippines adopted the electronic voting technology in 2010.