The Commission on Elections (Comelec) began the final testing and sealing (FTS) of automated counting machines (ACMs) Friday in select polling precincts ahead of the 12 May midterm elections.

Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia led the FTS at a polling precinct in Pateros Elementary School.

Pateros Elementary School is among the first polling precincts scheduled to conduct the FTS, which will run from 2 to 7 May.

“Some local Comelec offices agreed to conduct a centralized FTS in the presence of everyone,” Garcia said.

During the FTS, electoral board members (ERBs) will perform an end-to-end test of the ACMs, including machine initialization. Ten voters will cast ballots using the machines, and their votes will be manually counted and compared to the ACM results.

Following the FTS, the ACMs will be sealed and stored at the Office of the Department Education Supervisor Official, under the protection of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, until Election Day.

Approximately 110,000 ACMs have been distributed nationwide for the midterm elections.

Earlier this month, the Comelec announced its goal to complete the delivery of the voting machines by 1 May.