Comelec lends 700 gensets to NDRRMC

MANILA - The Commission on Elections on Monday said it will release 700 gensets and 80,000 portable batteries to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management to address the lack of electricity in areas affected by super typhoon "Yolanda." Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said the gensets were used to provide backup power for the precinct count optical scam (PCOS) machines during the May 2013 elections. He said the generators could be used to provide power for hospitals and local command centers. "We are not using them right now since we don't have elections until 2016. It would be good to give it to them. The gensets we can lend it to them," he said. He said Comelec has already informed the Office of the President that the gensets are ready for pickup at the Comelec warehouse. Brillantes admitted that the Comelec main office is having trouble reaching the poll body's field offices in Leyte and Samar.