by Ricarda Villar

More than 5,000 participants from various parts of Laguna took part in the Board of Election Inspectors Certification Training for Laguna last March 1 to 22 at Splash Mountain Resort in Brgy. Lalakay, Los Baños.

According to Elections Officer Randy Banzuela of the Los Baños Commission on
Elections (COMELEC) office, around 180 election inspectors from Los Baños took part in the training scheduled last March 9 to 10. The Los Baños election
inspectors were composed of public school teachers, civil servants, and private
citizens.

The election inspectors from the different municipalities and cities
of Laguna underwent the two-day certification training in preparation for the
upcoming May 9 elections.

The first part of the certification training was an orientation about the
election procedures, as well as updates on the operation of the new vote counting
machines (VCM) which will be used in place of the Precinct Count Optical Scan
(PCOS) machines that were used in the 2010 and 2013 elections. During the
certification training, participants underwent an examination conducted by
representatives of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Banzuela explained that the Board of Election Inspectors Certification Training
for Laguna is one of COMELEC’s efforts in ensuring efficiency and orderliness during the
May 9 elections.