Text and photos by MARIO IGNACIO
THE Commission on Elections held field tests in Taguig and Pateros Friday to try out the automated voting machines to be used in the May elections.
But in Aguho Elementary School in Pateros, the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine failed several times to transmit the election reports using its modem which had Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards from telecommunication networks Smart, Globe, and Sun.
Only at 11:51 a.m., three hours after the tests started, were the PCOS technicians able to transmit the election reports. In the absence of any signal from the three networks, PCOS technicians used the Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN).
The BGAN is a device that connects to a satellite network to transmit data, but this too was not easy. PCOS technician Mark Oliver Vergara had to bring the BGAN machine outside the classroom to get a signal.
Acquiring a signal from the BGAN was another challenge as Vergara had to walk around carrying the machine. After successfully getting a signal, Vergara even had to borrow a tripod from a cameraman to keep the satellite in place.
Comelec Officer Enriqueta Danieles however remained positive saying they were “nanganganay sa sistema (adjusting to the system).”