MANILA — Joint venture Miru has finalized the production of 110,620 Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) and related peripherals for the upcoming 2025 elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced on Thursday.
In an official statement, Comelec highlighted that the manufacturing milestone was achieved “two months ahead of the December deadline.”
“The Commission on Elections and MIRU JV have successfully achieved, well in advance, the final stage of the Full Automation with Transparency Audit and Count (FASTrAC) project, with all 110,620 ACMs and peripherals completed as of October 30, 2024,” the poll body stated.
The last ACM was assembled at Miru’s production facility in South Korea, concluding the manufacturing phase ahead of schedule.
The delivered peripherals include essential components like external batteries, power cords, SD cards, thermal paper, and smartcards for the Electoral Board.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia confirmed that the final batch of ACMs from South Korea should arrive in the Philippines in November.
“Ang dapat nakalagay sa kontrata talaga ay last week ng December. Pero ang recent na balita na sa atin is second week of November na andito na,” Garcia said.
Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco further reported, “Approximately 10,000 plus units are now being transported to Busan Port for shipment. By November, or a full month ahead of schedule, we expect all 110,620 ACMs to be delivered to Comelec’s Biñan Warehouse.”
Currently, 78,456 ACMs—approximately 70.92% of the total order—are stored at the Biñan warehouse, with 37,329 units already passing the Hardware Acceptance Test (HAT). The remaining 41,127 are awaiting testing.
The last group of 32,164 machines is currently undergoing customs clearance, being shipped, or on its way to Busan for loading.
Comelec previously reported that by September 18, all servers, printers, laptops, modems, and other essential devices for vote canvassing and consolidation at local levels were delivered. These include USB kits for vote transmission and headsets for persons with disabilities (PWD) voters.
Additionally, ballots used for HAT, Laboratory Certification Tests, and ACM demonstrations for nationwide roadshows set to begin next month were also completed.