This year, the country geared up for its first automated elections. But our preparations hit major bumps because the voting machine—“the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS)—“encountered glitches. It didn't help that most of the PCOS problems came up at the last minute. SPOT.ph traces the PCOS events that had us all at the edge of our seats.
DECEMBER 28, 2009. After a delay, 7,000 of the 82,000 ordered PCOS machines finally start arriving in the country. The Barbados-based Smartmatic-Total Information Management Corp. (TIM) subcontracted a firm in China to produce the machines.
JANUARY 27, 2010. All things seem to go well at the first PCOS field test at the Taguig Elementary School.
JANUARY 29, 2010. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Smartmatic-TIM deal with ballot rejection and inability to transmit data in their field test at the Aguho Elementary School in Pateros.
APRIL 28, 2010. Delivery of PCOS machines to Metro Manila delayed. The machines were allegedly stuck at Smartmatic-TIM's Cabuyao, Laguna warehouse. It is not clear why the delivery was postponed.
MAY 1, 2010. It is revealed that the Comelec ordered excess PCOS machines. The more that 6,000 spare units made many concerned groups edgy. There were speculations that the said machines would be used for cheating. The Comelec refutes these allegations.
