ACMs for NIR to arrive during Holy Week

The Automated Counting Machines (ACM) for the Negros Island Region (NIR) for use the May 12 polls are expected to arrive during the Holy Week, Atty. Lionel Marco Castillano, regional director for NIR, said on Wednesday.

Castillano said the ACMs are scheduled to arrive in Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, April 17 and 18.

The breakdown of the distribution of the ACMs in the three NIRvprovinces are: Negros Occidental will have 2,484 ACMs, Negros Oriental – 1,289 and Siquijor – 149.

He said the ACMs will be stored in designated warehouses where security forces will be assigned.

He pointed out that about 50 to 70 ACMs are for contingencies in case the units break down during the election.

Unlike in past elections when the ACMs will have to be brought to Cebu for repairs, this time there will be ACM repair hubs in Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor, Castillano also said.

Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will deploy teams across the Negros Island Region (NIR) starting Friday for door-to-door distribution of critical voter materials ahead of the May 12 national and local election.

Jossil Macute, assistant regional director of the COMELEC, said the Voter’s Information Sheets (VIS) will be hand-delivered to all registered voters, marking a significant operational shift from the unreliable postal system that previously failed to reach many citizens.

“The VIS contains the names of national and local candidates as well as personal information of a voter, such as his assigned voting center or precinct,” Macute said.

The poll body aims to complete deliveries to all 1.2 million registered voters across NIR’s 19 legislative districts by April 30.

Distribution teams will prioritize obtaining recipient signatures to confirm delivery, though documents will be left at visible home locations when residents are unavailable.

Each VIS clearly specifies the voter’s exact precinct and voting center location, along with complete lists of national and local candidates to minimize ballot confusion.

Macute said voters are strongly encouraged to verify their details at Comelec offices, though officials note most precinct assignments remain unchanged from previous elections.

This manual distribution strategy directly addresses the 18 percent of Negros voters who reported missing VIS mailings during the 2023 elections, when precinct confusion contributed to 30 percent of voting delays.*