Comelec to come up with decision on the AES Tuesday

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MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to come up with a decision on Tuesday regarding the automated election system (AES) it will use in the 2016 national and local polls.

According to Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes, the commission en banc will be deciding on what technology they are going to utilize in the coming elections.

“We will try to see kung magkakaroon kami ng consensus, at most Tuesday, which is our next en banc,” he said.

“By Tuesday, probably, meron na kaming decision kung ano ang gagamitin namin kasi recommendatory lang nga ang Comelec Advisory Council (CAC),” he added.

Last week, the CAC recommended for the reuse of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines as primary AES and another voting technology as secondary system.

With this, Brillantes said that after deciding on the AES, they would prepare for the conduct of the bidding.

“We would start bidding by September since our target is to finish it by the end of the year,” he said.

According to the poll body chief, he wants to unburden the commissioners to be left in the Comelec upon his retirement on Feb. 2, 2015.

“Para pagdating ng 2015 ay implementation na lang… pag retire namin sa February 2, wala na silang gagawin kundi implementation na lang,” Brillantes said.

Aside from Brillantes, Commissioners Elias Yusoph and Lucenito Tagle are also set to retire in February 2015.