Smartmatic-TIM to limit tech survey on automated polls
By Cleofe Abenion
BONTOC, Southern Leyte – Racing against time to finish the technical survey conducted in the province for the first automated elections will be outskirted, a Smartmatic-TIM official said.
The technical lay-out for the historic computerized balloting next year for this city and the entire Southern Leyte province has been set into motion.
With the preparation in frenzy for the coming election, Smartmatic-TIM(Total Information Management), the technical provider for the Automated elections had Ventures Link, its manpower provider for the surveys conducted in every municipality in the province, scampering against time to meet the targeted schedule of finalizing all the technical requirements of the first ever full poll automation in this part of the country.
As earlier reported, Smartmatic –TIM had started the municipal survey last October 22 2009. Target deadline is last week of November. However the remaining two weeks proved tight for Ventures Link.
With two weeks before the deadline, only 11 out of the 18 municipalities and the city of Maasin have been completely surveyed.
In an interview with Jesselito Perez, the provincial Coordinator of Smartmatic –TIM, he however, assured that the issues raised by the surveyors of Ventures Link like inclement weather and erratic logistical support can be outskirted. Strategies had been formulated to deal with these primary factors that hamper the momentum of the survey.
It was noted that peace and order has not been included as an issue in the delays of the surveys. With the Comelec at its heels, failure of election due to time element is remote.
Perez revealed that as of press time the municipalities surveyed for signal strength, physical set up, reliable power supply and other technical requirements only covers Macrohon, Limasawa, Malitbog, Padre Burgos, Libagon, Liloan, San Francisco, Pintuyan, Anahawan Hinundayan and Silago.
Bigger municipalities are online for evaluation. It was also learned that Smartmatic –TIM will be providing portable satellite to areas mostly in the hinter barangays where clustered precincts has weak or no signals from Globe and Smart, two of the major communication networks tapped to provide the connection.
