Mayor Celso Lobregat has expressed concern over reported glitches in the voting machines that would be used for Monday elections, as he called on residents to be vigilant and to closely monitor developments on the issue.

The glitches in the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines were noted during testing conducted in some parts of Metro Manila and various provinces nationwide May 3 when the equipment counted votes for local candidates who were not even marked on the ballot and numerous other discrepancies.

The glitches, traced to faulty or defective flash cards, might lead to problems during Election Day. On Tuesday, May 4, the Commission on Elections has ordered the suspension of the distribution of the PCOS machines to the precincts.

?We all have to really keep our eyes and ears open and monitor what is happening?, the mayor said in an interview over radio station DXXX, as he revealed that he is also closely watching all developments in the Comelecand Smartmatic, the supplier of the PCOS machines.

Concerned about the situation, the mayor on Tuesday conferred through telephone with election officials in the region and city offices to inquire about the status of the voting machines and the forthcoming elections. He likewise called up Dipolog City Mayor Evelyn Uy to get confirmation about defects noted in the machines during testing conducted in the municipality of Katipunan in Zamboanga del Norte.

Mayor Lobregat said the defects in the voting machines are a nationwide problem but hoped that the Comelec and the Smartmatic can resolve the glitch the soonest possible time.

On the promise of machine supplier to replace all defective flash cards, the mayor said, the corrections should be done the soonest possible time, as there are only four days left before election day. ?The Smartmatic said they can do it before elections so if they have to do it, it should be today or tomorrow?.

Per Lobregat?s information, configuration of flash cards should be done on a total 76,000 PCOS machines intended for distribution to precincts from Luzon to Aparri.

In a press conference yesterday afternoon, the Smartmatic said reconfiguration of all 76,000 flash cards will be done by today, Thursday.

The Comelec also said that the postponement in the distribution of the PCOS machines is purposely to allow Smartmatic personnel to reconfigure the machines at the regional hubs. Testing and sealing of the PCOS machines all over the country will be done until all flash cards have been check or replaced.

On suggestions that the counting of the ballots on Monday be done manually, Mayor Lobregat said many problems would also be encountered as the tally sheets and other documents have not been prepared and besides the process would be tedious and long as the precincts have been clustered and prepared for the automated elections and have at least 700 to 1,000 registered voters each.