ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 8 May) – The first day of delivery of the Print Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines in this city was marred by a traffic accident that resulted in the death of a member of a Board of Election Inspectors (BEI).
The accident, which took place around 7:35 a.m. Wednesday in Barangay Tictapul, involved a truck loaded with PCOS machines and a motorcycle driven by a BEI member, according to Senior Supt. Edwin de Ocampo, officer-in-charge of the city’s police force.
De Ocampo said the truck driven by Jake Ismael was en route to deliver PCOS machines in the barangays of Licomo, Limaong, Tumitus and Magusu when it collided with the motorcycle driven by Marvin Lozano, a public school teacher in Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte.
Lozano, 26, came from a nearby eatery and was on his way to Sirawai, where he was assigned to do election duties, De Ocampo said. Lozano reportedly died at the Vitali Lying-in Hospital.
Delivered on the first day which targeted the far-flung barangays were 279 PCOS machines, according to Air 21 area coordinator Erick Gonzales.
The Air 21 is the official cargo forwarder to transport the PCOS machines.
The remaining 209 PCOS machines, which will be for the city-limit and island barangays, will be delivered Thursday, Gonzales said.
The PCOS machines were tested and sealed upon delivery in the polling centers. This city has a total of 117 polling centers.
The PCOS machines were transported under tight watch by combined police and military forces, De Ocampo said