WHEREAS, Section 12 of Republic Act No. 9369 requires the examination and testing of the equipment or device of the Automated Election System (AES) to be used in the voting and counting;

WHEREAS, the Commission on Elections, by virtue of Republic Act No. 9369, has resolved to adopt a paper–based AES that will use Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) Machines to count the votes in the precinct level;

NOW THEREFORE, pursuant to the powers vested in it by the Constitution, the Omnibus Election Code, Republic Act No. 9369, and other election laws, the Commission RESOLVES as it hereby RESOLVED, to promulgate the following Rules and Procedures for the Testing and Sealing of the PCOS Machines:

SECTION 1. Period for testing and sealing of PCOS machines. – At least three (3) days before April 10, 2010 in the case of overseas absentee voting, or before the May 10, 2010 national and local elections, in the case of the elections here in the Philippines, the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI)/Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) shall convene in their assigned polling places to test and seal the PCOS machines.

SEC. 2. Notice of convening of the BEI/SBEI for the testing and sealing of the PCOS machines. – At least five (5) days before the testing and sealing of the PCOS machines, the Election Officer (EO) / Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting (COAV) of the Commission shall notify in writing, the BEI/SBEI concerned of the date, time and place of the testing and sealing.

In case of candidates, registered political parties, coalition of political parties, associations or organizations participating in the party-list system representation in the city or municipality, accredited citizens arm in the city or municipality, the EO shall notify them by posting a notice of the date, time and place of testing and sealing for each clustered precinct, not later than April 30, 2010, in the bulletin boards of his office and of the city or municipal hall and in at least three (3) conspicuous places in city or municipality.

For the overseas absentee voting, the national candidates, registered political parties, coalition of political parties, associations or organizations participating in the party-list system of representation, accredited citizens arm, and accredited OFW organizations, shall be notified by the COAV them by posting a notice of the date, time and place of testing and sealing for each precinct, not later than March 31, 2010, in the websites of the Commission and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

SEC. 3. Forms, documents and supplies. – In the morning of the day scheduled for the testing and sealing of the PCOS, the BEI/SBEI shall get the following forms, documents and supplies to be used for such testing and sealing from the Office of the Election Officer/Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG) of the City/municipality/Post/Embassy:

SEC. 4. Procedures for the testing and sealing of the PCOS machines. – During the testing and sealing, the BEI/SBEI shall observe the following procedures:

a) Explain to those present, the purpose of, and the procedures for the testing and sealing;

b) Randomly choose from among those present, ten (10) voters who will accomplish the test ballots. If there are less than ten (10) voters, any of the ten (10) voters may accomplish more than one (1) test ballot to complete the ten (10) test ballots needed;

c) Show to the public that the PCOS box is sealed;

d) Remove the sticker seal of the PCOS box;

e) Open the PCOS box;

f) Check whether the following are inside the PCOS box:

1. Checklist of contents of the box;
2. PCOS machine;
3. Power cord of the PCOS machine;
4. Ten (10) test ballots;
5. One (1) envelope containing spare IButton;
6. Three (3) rolls of paper;
7. One envelope containing the back-up memory;
8. Three (3) labeled PINs of the BEI/SBEI;
9. One (1) labeled PIN for re-zeroing;
10. Modem or bridge for BGAN, if any.



The three rolls of paper and the modem or bridge for BGAN shall not be used during the testing and sealing and shall remain inside the PCOS box.

g) Retrieve the PIN of each member of the BEI/SBEI and distribute the same among themselves. The PIN for re-zeroing shall likewise be retrieved and shall be in the custody of the Chairman;

h) Retrieve the test ballots from the PCOS box.

i) Retrieve the PCOS from its box;

j) Show to the public that the slot labeled POLL WORKER where the main memory card is stored is sealed. It shall remain sealed throughout the testing and sealing procedure;

k) Place the PCOS properly on top of the ballot box;

l) Break the plastic fixed length seal of the printer cover of the PCOS;

m) Open the printer cover and the Chairman shall take out the iButton security key;

n) Verify if the roll of paper is already properly installed;

o) Close the printer cover;

p) Connect the power adaptor to the PCOS AC power port (20 VAC);

q) Plug the other end to the electrical outlet;

r) Connect the battery to the PCOS DC power port (12 VDC). If there is no power, using a pen, press the RESET button located at the back of the PCOS above the AC power port;

s) Wait until the PCOS displays the message “PLEASE INSERT SECURITY KEY FOR AUTHENTICATION”;

t) The Chairman shall place the iButton security key on top of the iButton security key receptacle and apply slight pressure thereon until the message “SECURITY KEY VERIFIED” appears on the PCOS screen. Wait until the “MAIN MENU” is displayed;

The iButton shall be in custody of the Chairman until the closing of testing and sealing procedure.

u) In the “MAIN MENU”, the certified IT-capable member of the BEI/SBEI shall perform the following PCOS diagnostics procedure:

1) Select “UTILITIES” option.

2) Select “RUN DIAGNOSTICS” option. The PCOS runs diagnostics on the main memory then displays the message “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. MEMORY PASSED” if the memory is working, otherwise it will display the error message “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. MEMORY FAILED.”

3) The PCOS runs diagnostics on the backup memory. Wait until the screen displays “BACKUP MEMORY CARD NOT DETECTED. IS THIS CORRECT?” Select “YES” option. Then the PCOS displays the message “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. COMPACT FLASH PASSED.”

4) The PCOS shall then test the EEPROM then displays the message “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. EEPROM PASSED” if the EEPROM is operational; otherwise it shall display the error message “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. EEPROM FAILED.”

5) The PCOS then runs diagnostics on the thermal printer by automatically printing a sample output on the thermal paper. The sample printout will be “*** DIAGNOSTICS PRINTER TEST. ***”.

6) The PCOS shall display “CAN YOU READ THE TEXT PRINTED ON THE PAPER? with “YES” and “NO” options.

7) Select the appropriate option. If “YES” is selected, the PCOS will display “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. THERMAL PRINTER PASSED”. If “NO”, the PCOS will display “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. THERMAL PRINTER FAILED.”

8) The PCOS shall then display a set of numbered buttons to test the LCD. Test all buttons by pressing them one at a time. If a button works properly, the following message will appear “BUTTON 1 PRESSED”, “BUTTON 2 PRESSED”…… depending on the number of the button pressed. If the button pressed is not working, the PCOS will not display any message. Continue pressing the other buttons. When finished, select “DONE”. The PCOS shall then display the message “DOES THE LCD WORK PROPERLY?” with “YES” and “NO” options. Select the appropriate option. If “NO” is selected, the PCOS will display “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. LCD FAILED”. Then the PCOS will automatically perform No. 12 hereof.

9) If “YES” is selected, the PCOS shall display the message “PLEASE PRESS THE GREEN ‘CAST’ BUTTON TO TEST THE LCD SCREEN!” The BEI/SBEI member shall then press the green “CAST” button.

10) The PCOS shall display the message “PLEASE PRESS THE RED ‘RETURN’ BUTTON TO TEST THE LCD SCREEN!” . Press the red “RETURN” button.

11) The PCOS will display “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. LCD PASSED”.

12) PCOS shall automatically test the clock component and display the message “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. CLOCK PASSED” if the clock is operational or else it will display the error message “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. CLOCK FAILED”.

13) PCOS shall automatically test the power component and display the message “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. POWER PASSED” if the power component is operational or else it will display the error message “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. POWER FAILED”.

14) PCOS shall display the message “PLEASE INSERT ONE BALLOT TO RUN SCANNER DIAGNOSTICS”. The operator shall get one (1) blank test ballot from among the ten (10) test ballots and feed it in the PCOS ballot entry slot;

15) PCOS shall validate the ballot and display the message “SCAN COMPLETE”. The PCOS shall display the contents of the ballot with a message “VALID BALLOT PRESIDENT: BLANK CONTEST, VICE PRESIDENT: BLANK CONTEST ……. ”. Select “MORE” to continue the display of the contents. Then select “NEXT” to complete the display. Press the “RETURN” button. PCOS shall display the message “RETURNING BALLOT” and the test ballot is returned through the ballot entry slot. The certified IT capable member of the BEI/SBEI shall include the test ballot used with the rest of the test ballots;

16) After this, the PCOS shall display the message “IS THE SCANNER WORKING PROPERLY AND ARE THE SCANNED BALLOT RESULTS CORRECT?” with “YES” and “NO” options. Select the appropriate option. If the ballot scanner is functional, select “YES” otherwise select “NO”. If “YES” is selected, the PCOS will display “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. SCANNER PASSED”. If “NO” is selected, the PCOS will display “COMPLETE DIAGNOSTICS. SCANNER FAILED”;

17) PCOS shall display the “PRINT”, “DISPLAY”, and “PREVIOUS SCREEN” options;

18) Select “DISPLAY” option. The PCOS shall display the Diagnostics Report with “DONE” and “NEXT” options;

19) Select “NEXT” option to display the second screen of the Diagnostics Report;

20) PCOS shall display the “PREV”, “DONE”, and “PRINT” options;

21) Select “PRINT” to print the Diagnostic Report;

The report should contain the message “MACHINE IS READY FOR USE” that is printed at the bottom of the Diagnostic Report. If it does not contain such message, identify from the report which component failed, and call the technical support for assistance.

22) After printing the Diagnostic Report, the PCOS will display a message “WOULD YOU LIKE TO PRINT MORE COPIES OF THIS REPORT?” with YES and NO options. Press “NO” option;

23) The Utilities Menu will be displayed with the following options: “TABULATOR INFO”, “RUN DIAGNOSTICS”, “RE-ZERO” and “PREVIOUS SCREEN”. Select “PREVIOUS SCREEN” to return to the Main Menu;

24) Detach the printed Diagnostic Report and place inside the envelope (A17-TS) provided for the purpose;

25) Select “OPEN VOTING” from the Main Menu.

The PCOS shall then:

1. Request for the PIN of the poll clerk who will then enter his PIN and press “ENTER”;


2. Validate the PIN and display a message “PIN ACCEPTED”;


3. Request for the second PIN from the third member who will then enter his PIN and press “ENTER”;


4. Validate the PIN and displays a message “PIN ACCEPTED”;


5. Display two (2) options: “INITIALIZE VOTE COUNTERS” and “PREVIOUS SCREEN”.

26) Press the “INITIALIZE VOTE COUNTERS” option of the PCOS.

The PCOS shall:

1. Display the message “INITIALIZING VOTE COUNTERS”;


2. Automatically print the Initialization Report showing zero (“0”) vote for each candidate including the geographic information (province, city/municipality, barangay, voting center and individual precinct in the cluster);


3. After printing the Initialization Report, the PCOS will display the message, “WOULD YOU LIKE TO PRINT MORE COPIES OF THIS REPORT?” with “YES” and “NO” options. Press “NO”. The PCOS will display the message “PLEASE INSERT BALLOT”. Now, the PCOS is ready to accept ballots.

27) Detach the Initialization Report, affix their signatures thereon including the representatives of the political parties, candidates or citizens arms present;

28) Place the Initialization Report inside the envelope (A17-TS) containing the Diagnostic Report for submission to the Election Officer/SBRCG;

v) The Chairman of the BEI/SBEI shall issue the 10 test ballots.

Only two (2) voters can accomplish the test ballot at the same time. For this purpose, give each of the test voters a ballot inside a ballot secrecy folder and a marking pen;

The test voter shall, using the marking pen, accomplish his ballot by fully shading the oval opposite the name of the candidate/political party participating in the party-list system of his choice. Thereafter, he shall return his accomplished ballot inside the ballot secrecy folder and proceed to the BEI/SBEI;

w) The Chairman of the BEI/SBEI shall:

1. Examine the accomplished ballots and determine whether the ovals opposite the names of the candidates/political parties participating in the party-list system chosen have been fully shaded and the security features (timing marks and bar codes) have not been damaged;


2. Return the accomplished ballot inside the ballot secrecy folder and give the same to the voter who shall personally feed the accomplished ballot into the PCOS ballot entry slot.

x) Close the voting after the ten (10) voters have voted by doing the following:

1) The Chairman shall place the iButton security key on top of the iButton security key receptacle and apply slight pressure thereon. Remove the iButton security key from its receptacle, after which the PCOS will display the Main Menu;

2) Press the “CLOSE VOTING” option in the Main Menu;

3) The screen will display a message “ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO CLOSE VOTING? NO MORE BALLOTS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THIS.” Select “YES” option;

4) The PCOS will request for the PIN of the poll clerk who will then enter his PIN and press “ENTER”. The PCOS will validate the PIN and displays a message “PIN ACCEPTED”. The PCOS will request for the second PIN from the third member who will then enter his PIN and press “ENTER”. The PCOS will validate the PIN and displays a message “PIN ACCEPTED”;

5) The screen will display a message “POLL IS BEING CLOSED PLEASE WAIT” followed by another message “VOTING HAS BEEN CLOSED NO MORE BALLOTS WILL BE ACCEPTED BY THIS PCOS”;

6) Thereafter, the PCOS shall automatically count the votes and immediately display a message “WOULD YOU LIKE TO DIGITALLY SIGN THE TRANSMISSION FILES WITH A BEI SIGNATURE KEY?”, with a “YES” or “NO” option;

7) Press the “NO” option;

8) The PCOS will display “ARE YOU SURE YOU DO NOT WANT TO APPLY ANY DIGITAL SIGNATURE?”, with a “YES” or “NO” option;

9) Press the “YES” option. A message shall be displayed “PRINTING 8 COPIES OF NATIONAL RETURNS. PLEASE WAIT”.

10) A message shall be displayed “WOULD YOU LIKE TO PRINT MORE COPIES OF THIS REPORT” with a YES and NO options. Press “NO” option.

11) Thereafter, the PCOS will display “PRINTING 8 COPIES OF LOCAL RETURNS. PLEASE WAIT…” and the PCOS automatically prints the 8 copies;

12) A message shall be displayed “WOULD YOU LIKE TO PRINT MORE COPIES OF THIS REPORT” with a YES and NO options. Press “NO” option.

13) Detach the Election Returns and place it inside the envelope provided for the purpose;

14) A message shall be displayed “READY TO TRANSMIT. PLEASE PLUG IN TRANSMISSION CABLE TO ELECTRONICALLY TRANSMIT ELECTION REPORTS AND PRESS OK TO CONTINUE”;

15) Do not plug transmission cable. Press “SKIP” option;

16) A message “ARE YOU SURE YOU WISH TO SKIP CONNECTING TO THE MODEM?” with YES and NO options will be displayed. Press “YES” option;

17) PCOS will display a message “FAILED TO TRANSMIT RESULTS. TRANSMISSION PROCESS FAILED. PLEASE DISCONNECT TRANSMISSION CABLE”.

18) This shall be followed by “PRINTING TRANSMISSION REPORT. PLEASE WAIT…”

19) The PCOS will automatically print the Transmission Report. Thereafter display a message “WOULD YOU LIKE TO PRINT MORE COPIES OF THIS REPORT” with a YES and NO options. Press “NO” option.

20) Detach the Transmission Report and place it inside the envelope (A17-TS).

21) The PCOS will display the Main Menu;

y) Re-zero the machine counters, press “UTILITIES” in the Main Menu and select the “RE-ZERO” option in the next menu.

The PCOS will:

1) Request for the PIN of the Poll Clerk who will then enter his PIN and press “ENTER”;

2) Validate the PIN and displays a message “PIN ACCEPTED”;

3) Request for the second PIN from the Third Member who will then enter his PIN and press “ENTER”;

4) Validate the PIN and displays a message “PIN ACCEPTED”.

z) The Chairman shall enter the Re-zero PIN, then press “ENTER”;

The PCOS will:

1) Display “RESULTS HAVE BEEN INITIALIZED”; and

2) Automatically return to the Main Menu.

SEC. 5. Manual verification of results. – The BEI/SBEI shall retrieve the accomplished valid test ballots from the ballot box, manually count the votes therein and accomplish the Election Returns (ER) provided for the purpose. The following rules shall be observed in the manual counting of votes:

a) The Chairman shall verify the ballots to determine whether there is over-voting. If there is an over-vote in a position, no vote shall be counted in favor of any candidate for the said position;

b) The Chairman shall take the ballot one by one and read the names of candidates voted for and the offices for which they were voted in the order in which they appear thereon;

c) The Poll Clerk shall record on the ER the vote as the names voted for each office are read. Each vote shall be recorded by a vertical line, except every fifth vote which shall be recorded by a diagonal line crossing the previous four vertical lines;

d) After finishing the ten (10) test ballots, the Poll Clerk shall determine the total number of votes obtained by each candidate;

e) The BEI/SBEI shall compare the results of the manually-prepared ER with that of the machine-generated ER.

1) If the results of both ERs are the same, the certification portion of both ERs shall be signed by the BEI/SBEI and the representatives of the political parties, candidates or citizens’ arms present;

2) If the results of both ERs are not the same, the BEI/SBEI shall review/re-appreciate the ballots to determine the cause of the discrepancy. If after re-appreciation, there is still discrepancy, call on the assigned technical support.

1. The BEI/SBEI shall immediately submit a report of the testing to the EO concerned/SBRCG; and


2. The EO/SBRCG shall submit a report to the Commission, through the Field Operations Group of the Project Management Office.

Sec. 6. Post testing procedure; Shutting down the PCOS machines. – The certified IT capable BEI/SBEI member shall turn off the PCOS by doing the following:

1. Press the “SHUT DOWN” option in the Main Menu. The PCOS will display the message “ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU WANT TO SHUT DOWN THIS PCOS?”;


2. Select “YES” option. Wait until the light of the screen turns off;


3. Disconnect the battery from the PCOS machine;


4. Disconnect the battery cable from the battery;


5. Disconnect the power cable of the PCOS machine from the electrical outlet;


6. Disconnect the power cable from the PCOS machine;


7. Place the counted ballots, machine-generated ER together with the manually-accomplished ER and all reports in an envelope (A17-TS) for submission to the EO/SBRCG for safekeeping, after the testing and sealing;


8. The BEI/SBEI shall:



1) Retrieve the envelope containing the back-up memory card from the PCOS box;

2) Open the ADMINISTRATOR slot, insert the back-up memory card in the memory card slot of the PCOS labelled CF CARD 2 and seal the slot with plastic security seal (A12);

3) Place the PCOS iButton inside the printer compartment of the PCOS, cover the printer and seal with plastic security seal (A12)

4) Record the serial numbers of the plastic security seals on the Minutes/OAVF No. 11;

5) Place the battery and its peripherals inside the battery box;

6) Lock the cover of the ballot box with two (2) padlocks;

7) Lock the sliding cover of the ballot box slit with one (1) padlock and one (1) plastic security seal and record the serial number of the seal in the Minutes/OAVF No. 11.

8) Record in the Minutes/OAVF No. 11 the serial number of the Comelec seal to be used in sealing the PCOS box;

9) Place inside the PCOS box the following:

1. PCOS and its power cord;
2. Keys to the padlocks of the ballot box;
3. PINs for the BEI/SBEI;
4. PIN for re-zeroing; and
5. Two (2) copies of the Minutes/OAVF No. 11 in their envelopes



Ensure that the three rolls of paper, envelope for spare IButton and the modem, if any, are still inside the PCOS box.

10) Seal the PCOS box with the Smartmatic seal and Comelec seal provided for the purpose; and

11) Allow the accredited citizens arm to place their own seal.

Interested parties may, with prior authority from the Election Officer/Head of Post, watch over the polling center where the PCOS are kept.

SEC. 7. Disposition of forms/supplies. – After the testing and sealing, the BEI/SBEI shall:

1) Submit to the EO/SBRCG the envelope containing the following:

a) Diagnostic Report;
b) Initialization Report;
c) Eight copies of ER;
d) Manual ER
e) Transmission Report; and
f) Counted ballots.

The EO/SBRCG shall keep the above documents until further instruction from the Commission.

2) Leave the PCOS contained in the sealed box, the battery inside its box, and the locked ballot box inside the polling place, properly secured.

SEC. 8. PCOS machines to be opened on May 10, 2010 or on April 10, 2010 for overseas absentee voting. – PCOS machines shall only be opened on May 10, 2010 or, for overseas voting, on April 10, 2010, and before the voting starts and in the presence of watchers, if any.

SEC. 9. Effectivity and dissemination. – This Resolution shall take effect on the seventh (7th) day after its publication in two (2) daily newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

The Education and Information Department shall cause the publication of this Resolution and shall furnish copies thereof to all Regional Election Directors, Provincial Election Supervisors, Election Officers, Boards of Election Inspectors nationwide, DFA-OAVS and Heads of Post of Singapore and Hong Kong.

SO ORDERED.