PCOS field test fails

Field tests conducted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday morning failed due to weak cellular site signals in two areas in Taguig City. A said the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine at the Makarlika Elementary School failed to transmit counted votes to the municipal board of canvassers and the poll body's central office. The report said that according to Comelec officers, the PCOS machine could not transmit the votes because 3 telecommunications companies -- Globe, Smart and Sun -- had weak mobile signals in the area. It added that the election officers changed SIM cards for 40 minutes, but still failed to complete the transmission. In a separate report, the field test conducted at the Taguig City Elementary School yielded the same result. The report said the PCOS machine, using SIM cards of the 3 mobile network providers, also failed to transmit counted votes to the central server at the Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila. The counting machine, however, was able to initially transmit votes to the city canvassing center.