The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will deploy new automated counting machines (ACMs) to all Negros Oriental local government units (LGUs) for its voters’ education in November, six months ahead of the May 2025 polls, an official said yesterday.

This is the first time that all Negros Oriental LGUs will have their own ACMs for demonstration purposes, lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, Comelec-Negros Island Region Director (NIR), said.

“The new automated vote counting machines are upgraded with some similar features to the previous ones used in the 2022 elections, and we need enough time to teach the voters how to use them,” Castillano said.

In the past, Comelec-Negros Oriental rotated ACMs in LGUs.

“With each LGU having its own unit, it would be easier for us to go to the barangays, schools, and other establishments to conduct voters’ education on the features of the new voting machines,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Register Anywhere Program (RAP) that ended on Saturday, August 31, yielded 371 registrants across NIR — 227 from Negros Oriental, 137 from Negros Occidental and seven from Siquijor.

Since there is no extension of the RAP, would-be voters need to return to their hometowns or to where they are qualified to vote to sign up for next year’s polls.

The regular voters’ registration will continue until September 30 with no extension.

The filing of certificates of candidacy will proceed as scheduled from October 1 to 8, Castillano added. (PNA)