Dumaguete: All towns and cities in Negros Oriental will have contingency automated counting machine (ACM) units as backup during the May 12 polls, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official said Friday. Comelec-Negros Island Region (NIR) Director Lionel Marco Castillano shared this development with the Philippine News Agency, marking a departure from previous elections where a generic contingency unit was used to cater to different areas.

According to Philippines News Agency, the contingency ACMs this time are programmed for specific use only in their assigned town or city, making them non-transferable unlike in the past elections. Previously, only about 20 contingency voting machines were designated for Negros Oriental during the 2022 elections, which were moved from one town to another to replace any broken or malfunctioning machines.

The new contingency units will be pre-positioned in the respective towns and cities under the care of election officers. This strategy is intended to ensure that if a unit breaks down on election day, it won't slow down the voting process. The Comelec has received 194 contingency ACMs for Negros Oriental and 20 for Siquijor on Thursday night.